THE   FIRST    THANKSGIVING. 


THE 


STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 


OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


ALMA  HOLMAN  BURTON 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  GEORGE  W.  BARD  WELL 


THE  MORSE  COM3 
NEW  YORK 

1900. 


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Copyright,  1896. 
BY  ALMA  HOLMAX  BURTOX. 


Fifth  Edition. 


PREFACE 


IN  a  History  of  the  United  States,  the  fate  of  the 
Indian  is  only  an  incident  in  the  settlement  of  the 
country. 

The  theme  of  the  historian  is  the  White  Man. 
And  so  marvelous  is  the  national  drama,  so  daz 
zling  are  the  achievements  of  the  Puritan  and 
Cavalier,  that  the  Red  Man  has  little  more  space 
in  our  annals,  than  the  primeval  forest  which  once 
covered  the  continent. 

The  author  offers  this  book  as  a  Supplement 
ary  Reader  for  young  students,  who  would  know 
more  about  the  natives  of  America  than  can  be 
found  in  the  school  histories. 

She  has  endeavored  to  treat  the  subject  histori 
cally,  in  the  light  thrown  upon  it  by  the  best 
authorities.  A  few  chapters  have  been  devoted 
to  early  Colonial  life,  because  the  growth  and  de 
velopment  of  the  Puritans  measure  the  decline 
and  the  exile  of  the  Algonquins. 


i 


PREFACE. 


The  "  Story  of  the  Indians  of  New  England  "  is 
but  a  short  recital  of  the  tragedies  enacted  on  all 
the  hunting-grounds.  A  Massasoit  gave  welcome, 
a  Philip  avenged  injuries,  an  Annawon  surren 
dered  in  despair  the  birthright  of  his  chief,  and  a 
feeble  remnant,  left  behind  by  its  fallen  heroes, 
has  ever  sought  refuge  on  a  distant  frontier. 

It  is  well  to  study  the  annals  of  the  once  proud 
race,  whose  broken  fragments  still  linger  in  the 
rays  of  the  setting  sun ;  for  soon  these  Children 
of  the  Bow  and  Arrow  will  be  known  no  more  in 
the  land  of  their  heritage. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  pAGir 

I  AN  INDIAN  BABY  •       7 

II  AN  INDIAN  BOY  13 

III  THE  SACHEM  -      21 

IV  THE  COUNCIL  FIRE    -  29 
V  FISHING  AND  TRAPPING  -      34 

VI  MASSASOIT        -  41 

VII  THE  FALL  HUNT  -  -      46 

VIII  A  HUNTER'S  STORY  56 

IX  TRADITION  OF  THE  WHITE  MEN                                 -      61 

X  THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  MEN  69 

XI  MASSASOIT,  THE  KING     -  76 

XII  THE  PLAGUE    -  81 

XIII  THE  PILGRIMS      -  -      88 

XIV  PLYMOUTH        -  93 
XV  AN  EXCHANGE  OF  VISITS  -      98 

XVI  THANKSGIVING  107 

XVII  THE  MEDICINE  MEN       -  -    113 

XVIII  WEYMOUTH       -  119 

XIX  MERRYMOUNT        -  -    128 

XX  THE  PURITANS  133 

XXI  THE  NARRAGANSETTS  AND  THE  PEQUODS        -                137 

XXII  THE  PEQUOD  WAR  144 

XXIII  MlANTONOMO  151 

XXIV  THE  DUTCH  AND  THE  FRENCH  156 
XXV  THE  UNITED  COLONIES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND    -           -    161 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP. 

XXVI  CHURCH  AND  SCHOOL 

XXVII  PRAYING  TOWNS  - 

XXVIII  KING  ALEXANDER 

XXIX  KING  PHILIP 

XXX  KING  PHILIP'S  WAR 

XXXI  KING  PHILIP'S  WAR  (Con.) 

XXXII  KING  CANONCHET 

XXXIII  WEETAMOE  AND  ANNAWON 

XXXIV  THE  CHARTERS 
XXXV  THE  ROYAL  GOVERNOR  - 

XXXVI  THE  WITCHES 

XXXVII  ON  THE  FRENCH  FRONTIERS     - 

XXXVIII  PIRATES 

XXXIX  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WARS 

XL  THE  LAST  INDIANS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


PAGE 
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175 
181 
187 
193 
199 
206 
211 
218 
225 
230 
236 
fc44 
253 
262 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  First  Thanksgiving  -  Frontispiece 
Here  Bright  Eyes  lay  swinging  among  the  branches  Facing  page  10 
The  startled  deer  sprang  from  the  river  "  36 
"Massasoit!"  he  cried  at  last  "  "  43 
Moshup  laughed  as  he  waded  out  in  the  sea  to  up 
set  them  "  "  66 
There  was  joy  at  setting  foot  on  land  once  more  -  "96 
The  footsore  messenger  from  Weymouth  fell  faint 
ing  at  the  gate  of  the  town  -  "122 
Roger  Williams  pleads  with  Canonicus  "'  "  142 
Boston  seemed  a  splendid  city  -  :  166 
The  proud  chief  refused  to  go  "  184 
In  an  instant  hundreds  of  bullets  and  arrows  came 

whizzing  from  the  thickets  -  "    201 
As  Philip  ran  he  was  shot  through  the  heart  by  an 

Indian       -  "212 
Gov.    Andros  surrendered  and  was  thrown  into 

prison  "    227 
Maj.  "VValdron  sprang  from  his  bed  and  drove  his 

foes  before  him  with  his  sword  "    237 

The  Pirates  "          "    240 

Death  of  Chocorua   -            -           -           -           -  "         "266 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS  OF 
NEW  ENGLAND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AN    INDIAN    BABY. 

A  VERY  long  time  ago  many  tribes  of  Indians 
dwelt  in  a  land  which  they  called  "The  Land  of 
the  Bays." 

No  spot  on  all  the  vast  continent  of  America  was 
more  favored  than  this. 

First,  there  were  many  bays  where  canoes 
might  safely  glide  in  search  of  fish. 

There  were  Casco,  Saco,  Penobscot,  Massachu 
setts,  Cape  Cod,  Buzzards,  Narragansett  and  many, 
many  other  smaller  bays  playing  hide-and-seek 
among  the  headlands  of  its  coast. 

Then  its  sandy  beaches  were  full  of  clams  and 
lobsters,  its  marshes  resounded  from  morning  till 
niofht  with  the  cries  of  wild  fowl,  and  tangled  for- 

c5  O 

ests  hid  the  very  choicest  of  game. 

The  Indians  who  claimed  this  beautiful  country 


8  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

all  belonged  to  the  great  Algonquin  nation  ;  but 
they  were  divided  into  many  tribes,  each  having  a 
sachem  or  chief  of  its  own.  The  most  powerful 
tribes  were  the  Tarratines,  the  Massachusetts,  the 
Wainpanoags,  the  Narragansetts,  the  Pequods  and 
the  Mohegans.  Barbarous  names  enough  these 
seem  to  be  when  written  out  in  black  and  white, 
but  spoken  in  the  language  of  the  Indians  they 
sounded  like  the  murmur  of  pine  trees  or  the  gur 
gling  of  brooks,  so  musical  they  were. 

Can  you  picture  these  people  in  your  mind  ? 
They  are  tall,  slight  and  agile,  eyes  jet  black,  hair 
straight  and  black,  skin  copper-colored,  face  some 
times  gloomy  and  sometimes  noble  and  mild. 
Dressed  in  skins  and  armed  with  bow  and  arrow, 
they  flit  in  and  out  of  the  forests  so  stealthily,  and 
skim  over  the  water  so  swiftly  in  their  light  canoes, 
that  it  is  difficult  really  to  know  anything  about 
them. 

So  we  must  find  an  Indian  baby  to  study  day 
by  day,  just  as  we  would  our  own  little  baby 
brother.  And  surely  there  never  was  a  more  in 
teresting  baby  than  the  little  Indian,  Bright  Eyes. 

His  father  was  a  great  chief  or  sachem,  who 
dwelt  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Taunton  river,  near 
the  lovely  spot  where  its  waters  empty  into  Mount 
Hope  Bay,  an  arm  of  Xarragansett  Bay. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND. 

When  this  baby's  eyes  were  first  opened,  they 
looked  straight  into  the  face  of  a  loving  squaw 
mother.  Hers  was  not  a  handsome  face,  to  be 
sure,  after  our  way  of  thinking.  The  small  eyes 
were  far  apart,  the  forehead  was  low  under  the 
coarse  black  hair,  the  mouth  large,  and  the  skin  a 
reddish  copper  in  color.  But  there  is  no  doubt,  if 
this  wrinkled  bit  of  a  baby  could  think  at  all,  it 
thought  this  face  was  beautiful  ;  for  love  was 
there,  and  even  an  Indian  baby  knows  what  the 
smile  of  love  is. 

The  first  thing  Bright  Eyes  knew  about  life  and 
its  troubles  was  a  plunge,  once,  twice,  three  times, 
into  a  cold  stream  of  water,  which  fairly  took  his 
breath  for  a  moment.  But  before  he  had  his 
mouth  in  shape  for  a  cry,  he  was  wrapped  up,  as 
snug  as  a  bug  in  a  rug,  in  a  beaver  skin  and  laid 
away  in  a  quiet  corner  of  the  wigwam  to  sleep. 

This  wigwam  was  a  tent  which  the  squaw 
mother  had  made.  She  bent  long,  straight  sap 
lings  round  like  an  arbor  with  both  ends  stuck 
into  the  ground.  Then  she  covered  them  inside 
and  out  with  mats,  and  hung  a  mat  at  the  door  to 
keep  the  wind  out.  Straight  overhead  was  an 
opening  where  the  smoke  escaped  from  the  fire 
built  on  the  floor  in  the  middle  of  the  room. 
Bright  Eyes  loved  to  watch  the  blaze  of  this  fire, 


10  THE    STORY   OF    THE    INDIANS 

and  to  smell  the  venison  cooking  in  the  great, 
earthen  pot.  Hi,  how  good  it  did  smell ! 

In  warm  May  weather  he  was  tied,  with  the  fra 
grant  ribbons  of  linden  tree  bark,  in  a  cradle,  of 
thin  w^ood.  It  was  soft  with  sweet  grass  from  the 
meadows,  gay  with  porcupine  quills  and  shell 
beads  and  rattles.  It  hung  on  the  bough  of  a  tree 
near  the  field  where  his  mother  worked. 

Here  Bright  Eyes  lay  swinging,  among  the 
branches,  long  hours  at  a  time.  If  he  cried  it  did 
not  matter  ;  he  had  to  learn  to  be  patient.  The 
blue  sky  smiled  down  upon  him,  the  balmy  breezes 
brought  kisses  from  the  sea,  the  pine-trees  told 
stories  in  very  solemn  whispers.  Squirrels,  with 
tails  in  air,  whisked  madly  in  and  out  among  the 
branches  overhead,  as  if  to  say,  "  Don't  you  think 
that  you  could  catch  me  ?  "  Birds  sang  to  their 
mates  in  the  nests  ;  but  little  Bright  Eyes  was 
quite  sure  they  were  calling  to  him,  and  was  so 
busy  listening  to  all  the  voices  of  the  forest  that  he 
had  very  little  time  to  cry.  His  cradle  hung  so 
that  he  could  see  the  green  hillside  with  a  bubbling 
brook,  and  the  wigwams  along  the  edge  of  the 
river.  He  saw  his  patient  mother  at  work.  She 
carried  wood  from  the  forest  for  the  fire.  She 
dipped  up  water  from  the  spring  in  a  bucket  made 
of  bark.  She  pounded  the  last  year's  dry  corn  to 


PIP 


L 


HERE  BRIGHT  EYES  LAY  SWINGING  AMONG  THE  BRANCHES. 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  11 

make  cakes,   which   she    wrapped   in  leaves    and 
baked  in  hot  ashes. 

When  the  leaf  of  the  white  oak  was  the  size  of  a 
mouse's  ear,  she  hoed  the  ground  with  a  clam 
shell  and  dropped  herrings  into  the  holes  that  the 
corn  might  grow  strong  and  green. 

o        o  o  o 

There  was  much  for  Bright  Eyes  to  see  from  his 
perch  in  the  tree.  But  sometimes  the  sky  grew 
black.  The  winds  rushed  with  a  roar  through  the 
pine  trees.  The  tides  swept  in  from  the  bay  and 
tossed  the  spray  high  into  the  air.  Then  straight 
into  the  wigwam  went  little  baby,  cradle  and  all. 
Did  Bright  Eyes  cry  at  that  ?  Not  a  bit  of  it.  He 
crooned  to  the  rain  as  it  pattered  on  the  roof  of 
mats.  He  sucked  his  chubby  fist  and  set  himself 
to  gazing  at  the  strings  of  yellow  squash  and  the 
rows  of  red,  white  and  blue  corn  which  hung  on 
the  walls.  The  pictures,  embroidered  with  colored 
porcupine  quills,  were  very  curious,  and  the  deer 
heads,  eagle  claws  and  bear  claws  pleased  him 
immensely. 

But  at  the  back  of  the  wigwam,  high  up  where 
no  rude  hands  could  touch  it,  was  an  odd  little 
bundle  which  Bright  Eyes  could  never  make  out. 
It  was  such  a  dirty  little  bundle  of  brown  skins  ; 
and  yet  it  was  something  very  precious.  At  early 
dawn  on  hunting  days  his  sachem  father  stood  be- 


12  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

fore  it,  lifting  up  his  hands,  and  calling  out  in  a 
loud  voice  ;  and  sometimes  a  strange-looking  man 
in  paints  and  feathers  and  wampum  beads  danced 
before  it  and  sang  and  shouted  to  it  as  if  he  were 
going  mad.  This  was  the  powwow  priest,  and  the 
bundle  of  dried  skin  was  a  sort  of  god  which 
brought  good  luck  in  the  chase  or  the  warpath. 

Yonder,  near  the  doorway  of  the  wigwam,  hung 
bunches  of  black  hair.  There  was  a  long  row  of 
them,  and  warriors  often  came  into  the  lodge  to 
gaze  at  them.  They  counted  on  their  fingers,  one, 
two,  three,  four,  up  to  ten  ;  then  they  shut  both 
hands  and  counted  the  fingers  over  again.  Twenty 
long  black  locks  of  hair — the  scalps  torn  from 
the  bleeding  heads  of  warriors  killed  in  battle  ! 

Alas,  what  castle  of  Bluebeard  was  ever  worse 
than  this  ?  And  yet  there  lay  this  innocent  little 
pappoose  wishing  he  might  have  the  black  bunches 
for  playthings. 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  13 


CHAPTER  II. 

AN    INDIAN    BOY. 

BRIGHT  EYES  got  into  mischief  as  soon  as  he 
old  enough  to  toddle  about  on  his  unsteady  legs. 
He  tangled  the  long  grasses  with  which  his  mother 
was  weaving  nets  to  catch  the  shining  fish. 

He  stumbled  into  the  thin,  brittle  rinds  of  the 
linden  trees,  which  she  was  sewing  into  corn  bags 
with  a  needle  of  bone  and  threads  from  the  fiber 
of  an  elm- tree.  He  broke  a  drinking-cup  made 
from  a  dried  squash.  He  cracked  some  earthen 
pots  which  had  cost  a  great  deal  of  wampum  money. 
"Hi,  bad  pappoose !  7;  cried  his  mother.  She 
scolded  the  little  busybody,  but  she  never  whipped 
him.  He  was  to  be  a  great  warrior  some  day,  and 
must  never  know  what  fear  of  anybody  living  was. 

When  Bright  Eyes  grew  yet  stronger,  he  ran 
about  the  village,  playing  leap  frog  and  wolf  with 
his  mates,  jumping,  running  and  wrestling. 

As  soon  as  his  hands  were  large  enough  to  hold 
a  little  bow  and  arrow,  a  mark  was  set  for  him  to 
shoot  at.  "  Hi,  brave  pappoose  !  "  if  he  struck  in 
the  red  spot.  "  He  will  follow  the  bear  to  its  cave  ! 


14  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

He  will  bring  back  a  deer  to  the  lodge  !  He  will 
win  scalp  locks  for  his  girdle  !  '7  Thus  shouted 
his  mother  as  she  watched  him  at  his  games. 

He  could  soon  swim  like  a  fish,  dive  like  a  beaver, 
climb  like  a  bear  and  run  like  a  deer. 

Sometimes  when  he  was  plunging  into  the  cool 
river  he  fancied  he  was  a  beaver.  Then  he  clutched 
at  the  mud  with  his  hands  and  feet,  piled  up 
mounds  on  the  water's  edge,  and  ran  in  a  wrig 
gling  fashion  on  all  fours,  spreading  out  his  mouth 
to  take  in  the  twigs  and  pebbles  to  build  his  beaver 
lodge. 

He  knew  all  about  the  habits  of  the  beaver,  and 
often  lay  on  the  limb  of  an  overhanging  tree  watch 
ing  them  as  they  built  their  village.  This  was 
something  like  a  log  rolling,  and  the  whole  com 
munity  joined  in  the  work.  But  laying  up  provis 
ions  for  winter  was  almost  always  a  family  affair. 
Father  and  Mother  Beaver  and  their  two  or  three 
children  worked  busily  to  provide  for  the  time 
when  the  trees  would  be  stripped  of  their  tender 
leaves. 

The  old  beavers  gnawed  by  turns  at  a  maple  or 
a  poplar,  and  sometimes  the  younger  ones  tried 
their  teeth. 

They  sat  on  their  hind  legs  and  cut  all  around 
the  tree,  cutting  deeper  on  the  side  it  was  to  fall. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  15 

Finally  the  trunk  began  to  crackle,  then  there  was 
a  crash  and  the  whole  beaver  family  plunged  into 
the  pond,  where  they  kept  as  still  as  mice  till  they 
were  sure  the  noise  of  the  falling  tree  had  brought  no 
Indian  trapper.  Then  all  came  out  of  their  hiding- 
place  and  began  to  lop  off  the  branches  and  carry 
them  to  the  pond,  where  they  sank  them  in  a  pile 
near  the  lodge.  They  carried  the  smaller  branches 
on  one  fore  leg  and  limped  off  on  the  other  three ; 
they  pushed  the  larger  limbs  with  their  bodies, 
grasping  now  and  then  with  their  powerful  teeth 
to  guide  them. 

It  was  a  sad  thing  when  a  beaver  became  old 
and  toothless.  Unable  to  borrow  and  ashamed  to 
beg,  he  began  to  steal  the  cuttings  of  his  neighbors, 
and  was  sure  to  be  found  one  day  gashed  in  the 
side. 

Once  the  father  of  Bright  Eyes  found  a  very  old 
and  toothless  beaver  in  his  trap,  and  he  said,  "It 
was  just  as  well  for  this  beaver  to  die  in  a  trap,  for 
see,  he  has  no  teeth  and  would  soon  have  been 
killed  by  his  fellows  for  stealing." 

Once  Bright  Eyes  heard  a  sound  just  like  an 
Indian  baby's  cry.  He  followed  the  noise  and 
found  two  little  beavers  hungry  and  alone.  They 
wanted  their  mother.  Bright  Eyes  searched  all 
through  the  neighboring  wood,  and  at  last  found 


16  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

the  old  beaver  fast  in  a  trap.  He  felt  so  sorry  for 
the  lonesome  little  babies  that  he  set  the  mother 
free,  and  she  went  limping  back  to  her  lodge. 

Sometimes  Bright  Eyes  was  a  bear,  with  his 
home  in  a  hollow  tree,  and  many  a  search  was 
made  to  find  the  truant.  He  robbed  birds'  nests 
and  turtles'  nests,  and  cooked  the  eggs  in  bunches 
of  burning  leaves.  One  of  his  games  in  the  vil 
lage  was  the  "  crooked  path.'7  A  dozen  little  mis 
chief-makers,  all  naked,  but  a  string  tied  around 
their  fat,  bulging  bodies,  stood  in  a  row.  Each 
grasped  with  his  right  hand  the  belt-cord  of  the 
one  in  front  of  him.  Then  off  they  moved  in  a  slow 
trot,  singing  as  they  went.  They  trudged  in  and 
out  among  the  trees,  through  the  puddles  and 
around  the  wigwams.  If  some  old  woman  was 
pounding  her  corn,  the  stumbling  line  hurried  past 
her  in  a  circle.  Each  left  hand  seized  some  corn 
until  the  squaw  was  out  of  patience.  But  when 
she  ran  to  catch  them  they  were  off  to  the  woods 
like  squirrels,  which  hang  chattering  and  barking 
from  the  branches  overhead. 

Those  were  glad  days  for  Bright  Eyes.  They 
were  school-days,  too,  with  all  Nature  for  an  open 
book.  The  trees,  with  mosses  creeping  over  their 
gnarled  branches,  the  storms  spreading  thick  man 
tles  over  the  dancing  stars,  the  winds  blowing  from 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  17 

the  four  quarters  of  the  earth — he  knew  them  well. 
Had  his  mother  not  told  him  how  Kabeyun,  the 
West  Wind,  was  the  ruler  of  all  the  winds  ?  They 
obeyed  him  when  he  whistled  0-ho-oo-ho-o ! 

Wabun,  the  East  Wind,  brought  the  rosy  dawn, 
and  called  to  the  deer  and  to  the  hunter  as  the 
light  rose  from  over  the  morning  waters.  The 
North  Wind  dwelt  in  his  lodge  of  snowdrifts  up 
among  the  icebergs.  He  froze  the  ponds  and  riv 
ers,  and  sent  the  snowflakes  flying  through  the 
forest. 

The  South  Wind  had  his  home  in  never-ending 
summer.  He  sent  the  robins  and  the  bluebirds 
northward,  arid  gave  the  melons,  the  tobacco  and 
the  purple  grapes  that  hung  along  the  rivers. 

Bright  Eyes  knew  much  of  Grlooskap,  the  magi 
cian.  Once  this  Glooskap  was  very  angry  when  a 
storm  on  the  sea  had  spoiled  his  fishing.  He  sped 
in  rage  to  the  high  rock  where  the  storm  bird  sat, 
and,  creeping  up  behind  him,  tied  his  wings  so 
that  not  a  breath  of  air  was  stirring  for  a  month. 
The  sea  became  like  glass,  and  everything  was 
lovely.  But  after  a  time  a  green  slime  spread  over 
its  surface,  and  the  fishes  were  all  dying.  Then 
swift  to  the  high  rock  sped  Glooskap. .  He  untied 
one  wing.  That  made  all  things  just  right.  There 
was  wind  enough,  but  no  tornadoes,  as  in  the 


18  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

olden  time,  when  the  storm  bird  flapped  both  its 
wings. 

This  Grlooskap  was  a  wonderful  fellow.  His  ca 
noe  stretched  so  large  that  it  carried  a  whole  army, 
or  shrunk  so  small  that  a  dwarf  could  not  sit  in  it 
at  ease.  He  smoked  a  magic  pipe  which  brought 
all  the  animals  of  the  forest  to  his  beck  and  call. 
Indeed,  Grlooskap 's  collection  of  pipes  was  one  of 
his  strong  points.  He  always  had  one  ready  to 
bestow  as  a  reward  for  some  service. 

One  fine  day  a  whale  brought  him  dry-shod 
from  far  out  in  the  sea.  He  gave  her  a  short  pipe 
filled  with  tobacco,  and  she  sailed  away  again, 
smoking  as  she  went. 

Once,  when  Bright  Eyes'  little  sister  sat  cooing 
on  the  floor,  the  squaw  mother  told  how  Glooskap 
could  not  conquer  a  baby. 

He  said  he  had  conquered  everything.  "  Ah, 
master,  there  is  one  whom  no  one  has  ever  con 
quered,  and  never  will/7  said  a  squaw.  "  Im 
possible  !  "  he  said,  "How  dare  you?  There  is  no 
one."  "  It  is  the  baby/7  said  the  squaw.  "  There 
it  sits,  and  woe  be  to  the  man  who  interferes  with 
it."  Now  this  master  of  men  and  beasts  had  never 
had  a  baby,  and  when  he  saw  the  tiny  red  thing 
sitting:  there  on  the  floor  of  the  wigwam,  sucking 

O  O  c? 

sugar  and  paying  no  heed  to  a  word  he  had  been 


OP   NEW   ENGLAND.  19 

saying,  he  called  with  a  smile  and  bade  it  come  to 
him.  Baby  smiled,  and  sucked  away  at  the  sugar. 
Glooskap  made  his  voice  sweet  like  the  coo  of  the 
dove,  and  again  bade  it  come ;  but  baby  did  not 
budge  an  inch.  Then  the  brow  of  the  great  mas 
ter  darkened ;  he  commanded  in  a  voice  of  thun 
der  that  it  should  come  immediately. 

And  straightway  baby  yelled  when  it  heard  the 
voice.  Then  Glooskap  used  his  magic  arts.  He 
sang  the  songs  which  had  brought  the  dead  to  life 
again,  and  baby  glowed  with  admiration  at  his 
motions,  and  seemed  to  think  it  all  very  fine  in 
deed  ;  but  still  never  budged  from  its  seat. 

Then  Glooskap  gave  up,  in  rage  and  despair; 
and  baby  sat  on  the  floor  of  the  wigwam  saying, 
"  goo !  goo!7'  and,  it  is  said,  the  reason  a  baby 
now  says  goo,  goo  is  because  it  remembers  the  time 
when  the  master  of  men,  ghosts,  witches  and 
beasts  was  overcome  by  a  baby  like  itself. 

Bright  Eyes  knew  of  the  giants  who  dwelt  in 
wigwams,  high  as  mountains.  They  came  from 
the  chase  with  a  dozen  antelopes  hanging  from 
their  belts  like  squirrels,  and  swinging  two  or  three 
moose  like  rabbits  in  their  hands. 

When  they  returned  from  their  battles  in  the 
forest  their  legs  were  stuck  full  of  pine-trees,  with 
here  and  there  an  oak  or  a  hemlock.  This  did  not 


20  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

distress  them  nearly  so  much  as  thistles  and  splin 
ters  distress  a  common,  everyday  Indian. 

But  with  all  the  stories  his  mother  told  him,  she 
gave  Bright  Eyes  much  good  advice.  "  Be  brave, 
my  son/7  she  said,  "and  face  whatever  dangers  you 
may  meet.  Your  father  is  a  great  sachem,  but 
you  must  not  think  of  that.  Because  he  is  a  chief 
does  not  mean  that  you  will  be  one,  too.  It  is  the 
man  who  sweats,  who  is  tired  from  going  on  the 
hunt  and  on  the  warpath,  who  becomes  a  chief 
among  his  people. 

' '  I  would  not  cry  if  I  were  to  hear  that  you  had 
been  killed  in  battle,  surrounded  by  your  foes ; 
but  I  should  be  sorry  to  see  you  die  in  your  lodge 
like  a  feeble  old  woman.  Be  faithful  to  your 
friends.  Never  desert  them  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Do  not  run  away  if  they  are  taken  by  the  enemy. 
Be  killed  together.  So  live,  little  Bright  Eyes, 
that  you  may  join  the  warriors  of  your  people  who 
have  gone  before  you  to  the  happy  Hunting 
Grounds  in  the  land  of  the  Hereafter." 


OF  NEW   ENGLAND.  21 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    SACHEM. 

THE  father  of  Bright  Eyes  was  a  sachem,  and 
warriors  from  all  along  Cape  Cod  Bay,  Buzzard's 
Bay  and  the  east  side  of  Narragansett  Bay  paid 
him  tribute.  Their  offerings  were  the  first  fruit 
of  the  field  and  the  first  game  of  the  forest,  which 
they  laid  at  the  door  of  his  wigwam.  The  sachem 
himself  was  a  great  hunter. 

o 

He  was  often  gone  weeks  at  a  time  on  the  chase, 
and,  when  he  returned,  brought  back  a  deer  with 
spreading  antlers,  or  a  shaggy  bear,  or  strings  of 
shining  fish.  On  these  occasions  Bright  Eyes  did 
not  run  to  meet  his  father  and  ply  him  with  eager 
questions.  That  was  not  the  custom  of  the  coun 
try.  He  waited,  without  speaking  a  word,  while 
the  great  chief  sat  on  his  mat,  eating  supper.  The 
meat  broiled  over  the  coals,  and  the  succotash  of 
corn,  beans  and  fish,  thickened  with  the  meal  of 
acorns,  was  very  good,  and  the  hunter  was  very 
hungry.  He  had  tasted  only  parched  corn  for 
many  days,  and  so  he  ate  a  long  time.  But  Bright 
Eyes  had  learned  to  be  patient,  and  sat  without  a 


22  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

word  of  interruption,  till  the  meal  was  finished. 
Then  the  hunter  took  down  his  pipe  and  smoked  in 
silence.  Not  a  word  did  Bright  Eyes  utter,  but 
he  looked  no  end  of  questions  as  he  sat  leaning 
forward  on  his  little  mat,  his  bright  eyes  fixed  on 
his  father's  face. 

At  last  the  chief  was  quite  ready  to  talk.  He 
had  lain  in  ambush  for  the  deer  at  the  silver  lake 
in  the  forest.  He  had  shot  a  noble  roebuck 
straight  through  the  heart,  as  it  stooped  for  the 
morning  drink.  He  had  followed  the  bear  to  its 
cave,  and  pierced  it  where  the  eyes  were  shining 
like  two  torches  in  the  darkness,  and  it  fell  with 
out  a  groan.  He  had  floated  down  the  river  in  the 
wake  of  a  mighty  sturgeon,  and  caught  it  with  his 
fishing-line  of  cedar,  while  his  light  canoe  spun 
round  and  round  in  a  circle.  How  eagerly  Bright 
Eyes  listened  !  How  he  longed  to  be  a  hunter  ! 

Now  across  the  bay  from  the  Wampanoags  lived 
the  Narragansett  Indians.  They  were  a  brave 
and  warlike  people,  who  had  always  wanted  the 
east  side  of  the  lovely  bay  where  the  father  of 
Bright  Eyes  dwelt,  and  so  the  two  tribes  were 
often  at  tomahawk  edges  with  each  other. 

Once,  when  war  was  about  to  break  out  with  the 
Narragansetts,  the  father  of  Bright  Eyes  painted 
himself  black  all  over,  and  went  naked  and  alone 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  23 

into  the  forest  to  pray.  After  many  days  he  came 
back,  pale  and  thin  with  fasting.  He  said  he  had 
dreamed  that  a  war  eagle  perched  on  his  hand. 
Now  to  dream  of  a  war  ea«fle  was  a  sure  sigri  of 

t!?  O 

victory.  And  so,  from  his  village  on  the  Taimton, 
the  sachem  sent  fleet  messengers  to  all  the  tribute 
chiefs  within  the  borders  of  his  country.  The 
runners  started  at  early  dawn,  bearing  sticks, 
dipped  in  blood,  to  every  village. 

Soon  the  chiefs,  with  their  warriors,  began  to 
come  through  the  forest.  They  kept  on  coming, 
gathering  like  the  clouds  from  north  and  cast  and 
south.  They  filled  the  village  and  crowded  along 
the  banks  of  the  beautiful  river.  At  evening, 
when  all  had  assembled,  the  sachem  invited  his 
guests  to  a  great  feast. 

They  sat  down  close  together  in  a  circle.  It 
was  a  wonderful  sight !  The  forest  stretched  out 
high  and  dark  behind  them.  The  setting  sun  lit 
up  the  bay  until  the  waters  seemed  a  sheet  of  sil 
ver,  and  its  last  rays  fell  on  the  host  of  warriors  as 
they  sat  in  a  wide  circle  about  a  fire.  Some  wore 
mantles  of  feathers  of  brightest  hues  ;  some  leg 
gings  of  deerskin  fringed  at  the  side  and  a  jacket 
of  doeskin  ;  some  wore  skins  tied  round  the  waist 
like  blacksmiths'  aprons.  Some  had  their  hair 
long  and  tied  behind  in  a  knot  ;  some  had  the 


24  THE   STORY   OF   THE    INDIANS 

head  bare,  except  a  long-  scalp  lock  ;  some  were 
shaved,  except  a  strip  of  hair,  two  or  three  inches 
wide,  running  from  the  forehead  over  to  the  nape 
of  the  neck,  cut  short  and  made  stiff  with  paint 
and  bear's  grease  so  as  to  stand  upright  like  the 
crest  of  a  warrior's  helmet.  The  faces  of  all  were 
painted  in  every  imaginable  fashion.  One  had 
white  eyebrows  with  vermilion  lips  and  cheeks  ; 
another  a  blue  forehead  with  blue  lips  and  chin  ; 
others  had  straight  streaks  of  black  and  white 
paints,  and  others  were  marked  in  red.  All  glis 
tened  with  bear?s  grease  and  whale's  oil.  All 
wore  ornaments  of  copper  and  bone  and  strings  of 
wampum,  and  scalp  locks  hung  at  their  girdles. 
All  carried  weapons  which  lay  at  their  sides — 
bows  and  stout  arrows  tipped  with  flint,  war  clubs 
spiked  with  the  points  of  deers'  horns  and  gay  with 
turkey  feathers.  There  they  sat  in  the  sunset. 
Not  a  word  did  any  speak  as  the  little  red  Indian 
boys  passed  meats  around  in  baskets.  Bright 
Eyes  thought  there  could  not  be  in  all  the  world 
such  noble  braves  as  these,  and  he  wished  he 
might  have  a  seat  among  them  instead  of  serving 
at  the  supper. 

The  great  sachem  ate  nothing.  He  sat  apart 
smoking  his  pipe  in  silence.  When  the  feast  was 
ended,  the  pipes  were  lighted  and  all  the  warriors 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  25 

smoked  in  silence.  Then  the  sachem  rose  to  his 
feet.  His  face  was  painted  in  blue  and  crimson, 
on  his  head  was  a  high  crest  of  feathers.  He  wore 
a  shirt  of  doeskin  embroidered  with  beads  of 
wampum,  and  leggings  of  deerskin  fringed  with 
moose  hair.  From  his  shoulders  hung  a  brilliant 
feather  mantle.  At  his  wampum  belt  were  all  the 
scalp  locks  he  had  taken. 

He  stood  still  a  moment  and  looked  around  the 
breathing  circle.  There  was  Lightfoot  with  his 
band  of  forty  warriors  from  the  Island  of  Nan- 
tucket.  There  beyond  was  Grey  Wolf,  his  girdle 
black  with  scalp  locks.  There  was  Silver  Fox, 
cunning  to  take  his  foes  in  ambush.  There  were 
Big  Turtle  and  Long  Arm,  Fighting  Tiger  and 
Loon  Heart,  Red  Arm  and  all  his  other  tribute 
chiefs  with  their  bands  of  painted  warriors. 

Then  he  told  them  of  the  insults  heaped  upon 
them  by  the  hated  Narragansetts,  and  plead  for 
vengeance.  He  told  his  dream  while  fasting  in 
the  forest,  and  promised  victory  if  his  people  would 
take  up  arms  and  follow  him. 

When  the  great  sachem  had  finished  speaking, 
there  was  loud  applause.  Others  spoke,  and  soon 
in  a  tumult  of  voices  all  agreed  to  go  on  the  war 
path.  Then  they  hurried  for  pine  knots  to  feed  the 
fire  until  the  hissing  flames  turned  night  into  day. 


26  THE   STORY   OF   THE    INDIANS 

Then  they  set  up  a  pole  in  the  ground.  •  They 
made  it  fast  with  dirt  and  stones  and  formed  a 
great  circle  about  it.  They  whirled  around  in  a 
giddy-dance,  while  the  boys  and  squaws  beat  time 
on  the  drums.  The  sachem  leaped  within  the  cir 
cle.  He  struck  the  post  with  his  tomahawk.  The 
shouting  ceased.  The  dancers  stood  still.  He  re 
counted,  in  a  loud  voice,  his  own  brave  deeds  and 
those  of  his  ancestors  ;  the  number  of  prisoners  he 
had  taken  in  battle  ;  the  scalps  he  had  torn  from 
the  heads  of  his  victims.  He  flourished  his  tro 
phies  in  wampum  and  arms.  He  pointed  with  his 
bow  and  arrow.  He  lifted  his  tomahawk.  He 
struggled  and  leaped  like  an  actor  on  the  stage  to 
show  how  awful  the  struggle  with  his  enemies  had 
been. 

When  he  had  finished  the  wonderful  story,  loud 
shouts  arose,  and  the  whirling  dance  went  on. 

Then  another  leaped  into  the  circle.  He  struck 
the  post.  Again  there  was  silence  while  he  related 
his  own  deeds  of  valor.  Again  the  dance  went  on 
until  another  struck  the  post.  This  unlucky  fellow 
tried  to  make  himself  out  greater  than  he  was,  but 
he  had  hardly  begun  to  vaunt  his  prowess,  when  a 
warrior  approached  him  and  threw  dirt  in  his  face. 
u  I  do  this  to  cover  your  shame,"  he  said,  "  for  the 
first  time  such  a  boaster  as  you  sees  an  enemy  he 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  27 

trembles."  So  the  braggart  retired  with  the  gibes 
of  all  the  others  ringing  in  his  ears.  None  dared, 
after  that,  to  boast  of  what  had  never  happened. 

But  there  was  enough  that  was  true  to  arouse 
great  enthusiasm,  and  so  the  dance  went  on  until 
all  the  chiefs  had  struck  the  post.  Then  they 
pounded  the  post  and  kicked  it  as  they  intended  to 
do  to  their  enemies  on  the  morrow.  They  acted 
out  the  coming  battle. 

There  it  was  in  pantomime,  the  muster,  the 
march,  the  ambush,  the  slaughter,  the  scalping, 
the  reception  at  home  by  the  squaws  and  the  old 
men,  the  torture  and  massacre  of  the  prisoners. 

It  was  a  tremendous  uproar  !  At  last  the  gray 
dawn  broke  over  the  scene.  All  was  silence  now. 
The  powwow  priest,  with  the  head  of  a  deer  on  his 
shoulders,  marched  out  alone  to  the  footpath  lead 
ing  to  the  Narragansett  country.  He  bore  aloft 
the  sacred  bundle  of  dried  skin,  and  stepped  with 
catlike  tread  over  the  autumn  leaves.  He  listened 
to  all  the  sounds  of  the  early  morning.  The  birds 
were  beginning  their  songs.  But  there  was  no 
cawing  of  a  crow  to  be  heard,  and  that  was  a  good 
sign.  The  cawing  of  a  crow  meant  that  the  enemy 
was  near.  He  stooped  to  watch  the  ground.  A 
slimy  frog  leaped  from  the  marsh,  a  squirrel 
scampered  through  the  thicket,  but  no  rattlesnake 


28  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

crawled  across  the  pathway.  That  was  a  good 
sign.  A  rattlesnake  meant  danger.  "The  signs 
were  right,'7  said  the  powwow.  The  warriors  strip 
ped  off  their  ornaments,  and  crept  single  file 
through  the  forest  to  seek  their  bitter  foes. 

They  looked  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left 
for  any  living  thing.  No  danger  now  for  the 
game  !  Every  arrow  seeks  only  the  breast  of  the 
foe. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  29 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    COUNCIL    FIRE. 

AFTER  an  absence  of  many  days,  the  great  sachem 
and  his  warriors  returned  from  the  warpath. 
They  were  red  with  paint  and  shining  with  bear's 
grease.  Bloody  scalps  hung  at  their  girdles,  and 
captives  marched  at  their  sides  with  hands  tied  be 
hind  them.  There  had  been  a  great  battle,  and  as 
the  conquerors  came  into  the  village  they  shouted 
and  boasted  of  the  victories  they  had  won.  They 
hastened  to  collect  brushwood  and  make  a  great 
fire.  Long  hours  they  feasted  and  smoked  and 
told  tales  of  the  warpath. 

No  one  offered  the  poor  captives  a  morsel  of 
food.  There  they  stood,  tied  to  the  trees  with 
ropes  of  the  willow,  and  heard  how  one  by  one 
their  chiefs  had  fallen.  And  when  the  feast  was 
over  they  were  stripped  of  their  clothing  and 
forced  to  run  the  gauntlet.  Squaws,  old  men  and 
boys  of  the  village  formed  in  a  long,  double  line. 
The  squaws  were  armed  with  pot  hooks  and  bones, 
the  old  men  held  in  their  shrunken  hands  the  war 
clubs,  and  boys  who  had  never  shed  the  blood  of 


30  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

any  creature  larger  than  a  squirrel  lifted  up  their 
sticks — all  pelted  the  prisoners  as  they  fled  down 
through  the  narrow  passage.  Some  of  these  pris 
oners  had  been  great  warriors  among  the  Narra- 
gansetts,  and  it  was  worse  to  them  than  death  to 
be  beaten  by  squaws  and  boys  of  their  enemies. 
Whack  !  Whack  !  Whack  !  went  the  blows  as  they 
rushed  on  down  the  bristling  gauntlet  line.  And 
all  the  while  the  hoarse  shouts  of  the  women 
mingled  with  the  quavering  warcry  of  the  old  men 
arid  the  shrill  screams  of  the  children. 

Bright  Eyes  could  hardly  have  mustered  courage 
to  strike  the  bleeding  warriors,  had  he  not  seen  his 
mother  dealing  such  awful  blows.  He  was  ashamed 
that  his  heart  was  softer  than  a  squaw's.  So  he 
struck  away  mightily.  But  half  the  time  he  kept 
his  eyes  shut. 

After  the  wretched  victims  had  run  the  gauntlet, 
they  were  put  to  worse  treatment.  They  would 
not  let  the  enemy,  see  that  any  torture  could  give 
them  pain.  Xot  a  sigh  or  groan  escaped  them, 
and  they  sang  their  death  songs  with  steady  voices 
while  they  were  burned  to  death,  or  pinched  and 
beaten  and  shot  about  the  legs  and  arms  with 
arrows. 

Bright  Eyes  was  urged  by  his  father  to  shoot  at 
the  prisoners.  The  first  time  he  bent  his  bow  his 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  31 

heart  stood  quite  in  his  throat.  He  did  not  want  to 
hurt  the  dying  men.  But  he  was  proud  when  he  saw 
how  straight  his  little  arrow  stood  in  the  flesh  with  the 
big  one  of  his  father.  He  drew  another  arrow  from 
the  quiver ;  then  another  and  another.  He  sent  them 
thick,  with  eyes  wide  open  and  breath  coming  fast. 
He  was  thinking  only  of  his  skill  at  shooting. 

That  was  the  way  Bright  Eyes  learned  to  look 
at  suffering. 

Every  autumn  a  great  council  was  held.  The 
warriors  sat  about  a  fire  smoking  long  pipes  and 
looking  very  grave,  and  their  little  sons  sat  at 
their  sides,  that  they  might  learn  the  history  of 
their  people.  Broad  bands  of  wampum  belts  were 
passed  around  the  circle,  and  read  aloud  by  the 
chiefs.  There  were  pictures  on  the  belts,  worked 
in  colored  beads,  which  told  of  all  the  totems  in 
the  Land  of  the  Bays.  Now,  these  totems  were 
the  Indians'  coats  of  arms,  with  various  devices, 
just  as  the  nations  of  Europe  have.  England  has 
the  lion  and  the  unicorn,  Russia  the  bear,  Aus 
tria  the  eagle,  and  it  was  much  the  same  among 
the  American  Indians.  One  tribe  chose  as  a  badg-e, 

O      " 

the  wise  beaver  ;  another,  the  swift  hare  ;  another, 
the  cunning  fox  ;  another,  the  unconquerable  bear. 
And  these  wampum  belts  told  of  all  the  devices 
bv  which  each  tribe  was  known. 


32  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Then  these  wampums  told  of  great  victories, 
and  of  mighty  warriors  who  had  died  on  the  bat 
tle-field.  But — alas  for  the  pride  of  the  chieftains  ! 
—the  belts  told,  too,  of  defeats  and  loss  of  hunting- 
grounds.  That  was  always  hard  to  read  before 
the  eager  boys  who  listened. 

The  more  Bright  Eyes  heard  of  the  history  of 
his  people,  the  more  he  longed  to  do  some  daring 
thing  which  might  be  written  down  in  the  wampum 
belts. 

He  said  that  when  he  had  won  the  feathers  of 
the  war  eagle  for  his  hair,  he  would  go  himself  on 
the  warpath  to  the  hated  Narragansetts.  Or,  bet 
ter  yet,  he  would  call  the  clans  together,  and  they 
would  steal  through  the  woods  to  the  ocean,  pitch 
their  tents  in  the  forests  along  the  bays,  and  all 
the  long  summer  build  them  a  line  of  boats  to 
carry  them  up  to  conquer  the  hostile  Tarratines, 
who  dwelt  on  the  Kennebec. 

But  sometimes,  when  the  campfire  flickered,  and 
the  warriors  lay  in  heavy  slumbers,  Bright  Eyes 
had  even  bolder  plans  than  these.  He  whispered 
to  himself  that  he  w^ould  make  peace  with  the  other 
tribes  of  the  Algonquins,  with  the  Xarragansetts, 
the  Tarratines,  the  Pequods,  the  Mohegans,  with 
all  that  spoke  the  Algonquin  language  and  dwelt 
in  the  Land  of  Bays,  and  they  would  unite  against 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  33 

their  common  foes.  Why  should  these  kindred 
warriors  fight  and  quarrel  with  one  another  ?  Many 
arrows  bound  together  never  could  be  broken. 
Many  warriors,  when  united,  might  make  war  upon 
the  hated  Mohawks,  the  "Man  eaters,"  who  dwelt 
on  the  lakes  in  the  north.  There  was  a  shameful 
story  written  in  the  wampums  how  the  whole  Al 
gonquin  people  once  had  fled  before  the  Mohawks 
like  sheep  before  the  wolves  in  winter. 

All  this  planning  for  great  conquests  kept  little 
Bright  Eyes  very  busy. 


34  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 


CHAPTER  Y. 

FISHING    AND    TRAPPING. 

UNTIL  Bright  Eyes  was  twelve  years  old,  he 
wore  only  a  patch  of  clothes.  Then  he  was  dressed 
much  like  his  lather. 

He  had  a  coat  of  tanned  doeskin  with  two  large 
pockets,  one  before  and  one  behind,  and  long  leather 
stockings  fringed  along  the  side.  Braided  mocca 
sins  of  moose-hide  were  on  his  feet,  turkey  feathers 
were  in  his  hair,  and  a  quiver  filled  with  arrows 
hung  upon  his  shoulder.  When  he  saw  himself 
dressed  in  all  these  garments,  he  was  very  proud, 
and  walked  about  with  the  strut  of  the  warriors. 
He  looked  with  disdain  at  his  little  sister,  Mioonie, 
who  had  once  been  his  chosen  comrade.  Their 
paths  were  now  divided ;  his  led  to  war  and  glory, 
hers  to  the  spring  for  water  and  to  the  brush  for 
firewood. 

But  not  even  Mioonie  wished  her  handsome  lit 
tle  brother  to  play  with  her  after  the  feathers  had 
been  put  in  his  hair,  for  now  he  must  learn  to  do 
as  men  do.  If  lie  stayed  about  the  wigwam  he 
would  become  a  squaw  man,  and  there  was  nothing 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  35 

in  the  world  that  all  the  Indian  girls  hated  like  a 
squaw  man,  who  carried  wood  and  water  and  hoed 
the  corn  and  braided  the  mats.  She  wanted  Bright 
Eyes  to  hunt,  and  to  fish,  and  to  learn  to  shoot  so 
well,  that  when  he  was  on  the  warpath,  he  might 
kill  more  foes  than  any  other  Indian. 

One  day  in  the  month  of  August,  Bright  Eyes 
went  with  his  sachem  father  to  make  a  canoe  in 
the  forest. 

They  carried  stone  hatchets,  some  flint  and  a 
bag  of  parched  corn.  They  set  out  at  a  brisk  pace 
in  the  early  morning,  and  followed  the  beaten 
path  for  a  time.  Then  they  turned  to  the  right 
where  the  underbrush  was  denser.  There  was 
plenty  of  game  in  these  woods.  Squirrels  and  jack- 
rabbits,  partridges  and  bushy-tailed  foxes  darted 
in  and  out  the  thickets,  and  Bright  Eyes  wanted 
to  shoot  at  everything  he  saw.  But  his  father  did 
not  look  to  right  or  left,  and  hurried  on  so  fast  that 
there  was  no  time  to  take  aim  at  anything.  Sud 
denly  the  chief  paused.  He  held  his  finger  on  his 
lips,  and,  stooping  down,  he  removed  his  leggings 
and  the  moccasins  from  his  feet.  Bright  Eyes  did 
the  same.  The  bushes  might  catch  on  them  and 
crackle.  The  two  went  slower  now,  and  very 
softly.  Through  an  open  space  in  the  forest  they 
saw  at  last  a  winding  river.  The  sunshine  played 


36  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

upon  its  waters,  and  they  could  hear  the  drowsy 
hum  of  insects  skimming  over  its  glassy  surface 
On  they  crept,  now  hardly  breathing.  Then  they 
saw  two  red  deer  standing  knee-deep  in  the  water. 
There  they  stood,  with  branching  antlers,  their 
eyes  half  shut,  their  ears  twitching  back  and  forth 
to  frighten  oif  the  biting,  buzzing  insects.  Quick 
as  a  flash  the  sachem  bent  his  bow.  One  breath 
less  moment,  w^hiz-z-z  went  the  fatal  arrow,  sing- 
Ing  through  the  hot  noon  air ! 

The  startled  deer  sprang  from  the  river,  splash 
ing  the  water  into  spray.  One  sped  like  the  wind 
to  the  thicket ;  the  other  fell  back  dead  upon  the 
mossy  bank.  Bright  Eyes  sprang,  shouting,  from 
the  ambush,  and  the  birds  screamed  an  answer 
from  the  branches  overhead.  Soon  the  hunters 
stripped  the  skin  from  the  great  red  roebuck. 
They  struck  a  fire  from  the  flint  and  roasted  the 
juicy  meat  from  the  haunches. 

They  had  a  royal  dinner.  Then  they  pushed 
farther  into  the  forest,  until  they  came  to  where 
the  trees  stood  high  and  straight,  with  stems  like 
giants. 

Here  they  set  up  camp  in  a  tent  made  from 
the  bark  of  a  chestnut- tree.  Then  the  chief  set  to 
work  to  make  a  canoe.  First  he  fashioned  from  a 
pine-tree  a  long  frame,  bent  to  a  point  at  each  end. 


THE    STARTLED    DEER    SPRANG   FROM    THE    RIVER. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  37 

Then  he  stripped  the  thin  bark  from  a  large,  white 
birch-tree.  That  was  easy  to  do  in  the  month  of 
August  when  the  sap  flowed  down  toward  the 
roots.  Then  he  dug  in  the  ground  for  the  roots 
of  the  spruce-tree,  and  made  threads  as  stout  as 
whip-cords,  and  sewed  the  bark  together  at  the 
ends,  and  made  it  fast  to  the  framework.  Then  he 
smeared  the  balsam  from  the  pine-trees  over  all 
the  seams  and  crevices.  Then  the  two  went  to 
gether  in  search  of  a  hedgehog.  They  found  one 
in  a  hollow  tree,  rolled  up  tight,  like  a  ball,  and 
its  spines  stuck  out  like  needles.  It  was  fast  asleep, 
but  the  flint  arrows  pierced  its  sides,  and  it  never 
woke  up  again.  The  chief  plucked  its  quills,  and 
made  them  red  and  blue  and  yellow  from  the  juices 
of  roots  and  berries,  and  sewed  them  in  circles  and 
stars  on  the  bows  of  the  beautiful  canoe.  And  so 
the  canoe  was  finished.  It  was  long  and  slender, 
and  so  light  that  Bright  Eyes  could  carry  it  on  his 
shoulder  to  the  river.  And  when  it  was  launched 
it  flew  like  a  thing  of  life,  dipping  its  prow,  curv 
ing1  its  sides,  and  floating  off  like  a  swan  on  the 

o  ~ 

water. 

When  night  came  on,  and  the  stars  peeped  down 
from  the  sky,  the  two  fishermen  pushed  silently 
out  in  the  river.  Bright  Eyes  plied  the  paddles 
at  one  end  of  the  skiff,  while  his  father  sat  at  the 


38  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

other  end  holding  in  his  right  hand  a  long  spear, 
and  in  his  left  a  torch  of  dried  birch-bark. 

The  blaze  from  the  torch  threw  a  flood  of  light 

o 

on  the  water,  so  that  every  pebble  in  the  bed  be 
low  could  be  seen,  and  among  the  flags  along  the 
shore  they  saw  the  pike.  There  they  lay,  the  cun 
ning  creatures !  Their  duck-shaped  heads  close 
together,  and  their  mottled-green  sides  shining  in 
the  torch-light. 

High  was  the  long  spear  lifted.  Straight  at  the 
flat  heads  it  flew,  and  bore  aloft  a  speckled  beauty. 
Another  and  another  struggled  on  the  spear-point. 

Then  the  swarm  of  pike  regained  their  senses 
and  scampered  away  down  the  river.  But  off 
sped  the  skiff  into  the  darkness,  swifter  than  the 
fish  might  carry  the  news.  And  soon  another  lot 
of  silly  flatheads  lay  dazzled  in  the  torch-light. 

And  when  the  late  moon  rose  above  the  tree- 
tops,  the  skiff  was  full  of  pike,  and  the  two  fisher 
men  rowed  back  shouting,  to  the  lodge. 

At  dawn  on  the  morrow,  Bright  Eyes  sprang 
from  his  bed  of  leaves,  to  help  string  the  glit 
tering  treasures  on  a  line  of  twisted  cedar  bark. 
And  with  canoe  and  fish  on  their  shoulders,  Bright 
Eyes  and  the  sachem  reached  at  last  the  village  on 
the  Taunton.  Hi,  how  good  tasted  the  steaming 
succotash  of  corn  and  beans  and  pike  ! 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  39 

After  this  journey  to  the  forest,  Bright  Eyes  and 
his  father  were  much  together.  They  set  traps 
for  the  beaver,  and  for  the  weasels,  those  with  the 
white  fur  which  was  prized  for  ornaments  ;  and 
for  the  brown  martens,  and  for  the  raccoons,  whose 
skins  made  pouches  and  bags.  They  enticed  ani 
mals  within  reach,  by  imitating  their  cries.  They 
howled  like  wolves,  bleated  like  the  fawns,  honked, 
honked  like  the  wild  geese,  and  gobbled,  gobbled 
like  the  turkeys,  which  came  in  droves  to  the  oak 
forests  for  acorns. 

They  caught  the  turkeys  in  traps,  that  they 
might  not  spoil  the  fine  feathers.  First  they  made 
a  pen  of  wood,  with  an  opening  below  just  large 
enough  for  a  turkey  to  pass,  and  scattered  corn  in 
side  and  outside.  Then,  hidden  in  the  trees,  they 
gobbled,  turkey  fashion.  Soon  the  great  bronze- 
colored  birds  came  in  sight.  They  flew  in  short 
stages.  They  rested  on  the  limbs  of  trees,  stretching 
out  their  long  necks  and  peering  cautiously  about 
with  their  bright,  beadlike  eyes.  They  alighted 
and  strutted  proudly  here  and  there.  Then  they 
stood  very  still,  listening  for  more  gobbles  from 
their  wandering  mates.  At  last  they  spied  the 
scattered  corn,  and  having  eagerly  devoured  all  on 
the  outside  of  the  pen,  they  squeezed  through  the 
hole  for  the  corn  on  the  inside.  When  they  had 


40  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

eaten  this  they  spread  their  wings  to  fly  away. 
But  they  looked  up  to  fly.  They  never  thought 
of  the  place  where  they  had  entered.  So  these 
proud  birds  paid  a  heavy  penalty  for  their  lack  of 
common  sense.  Their  bodies  went  into  the  pot, 
and  their  beautiful  feathers  waved  in  the  head-dress 
of  many  an  Indian  brave. 

Bright  Eyes  learned  to  build  a  gull-house  with 
sticks  fixed  in  the  sands  of  the  beach.  He  covered 
it  with  loose  poles  and  a  thatch  of  seaweed.  Then 
he  laid  large  pieces  of  whale  flesh  on  the  thatch, 
and  while  the  gulls  were  fighting  over  the  meat 
and  eating  it,  he  stood  beneath  the  roof,  reached 
up  his  hands  and  drew  down  the  birds  one  by  one 
between  the  poles,  until  he  had  caught  as  many  of 
them  as  he  wanted. 

Bright  Eyes  was  very  busy  in  the  autumn,  when 
the  leaves  were  turning  crimson. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  41 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MASSASOIT. 

THROUGH  the  long,  dark  winter  season,  there  was 
little  the  warriors  could  do  in  the  Land  of  the 
Bays,  for  it  was  always  very  cold.  The  villages  by 
the  rivers  were  moved  to  thick- wooded  bottoms  for 
shelter  from  the  fierce  blasts  of  the  north.  The 
families  huddled  about  the  fires  in  the  wigwams, 
while  the  rivers  froze  thick  and  the  snow  wrapped 
all  the  tree-tops  in  white  mantles,  and  covered  up 
the  pathways  through  the  forest. 

Sometimes,  to  be  sure,  a  few  stupid  fish  were 
caught  through  a  hole  in  the  ice,  or  a  foolish  duck 
was  found  imbedded  in  the  frozen  water. 

But  this  good  luck  did  not  happen  very  often, 
and  dried  squash  and  corn,  smoked  venison  and 
bear's  meat,  were  thought  to  be  good  enough  for 
winter  food. 

It  was  in  high  glee,  that  one  morning  very  early 
in  the  spring,  while  the  snow  still  lay  deep  on  the 
ground,  Bright  Eyes  joined  his  father  in  a  moose 
hunt. 

Armed    with   bows  and   arrows,  they  sped   on 


42  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

their  snow  -  shoes  over  the  crisp  crust  toward 
the  foothills.  Icicles  on  the  branches  overhead 
cracked  and  trembled  as  they  passed.  Rabbits 
leaped  in  frantic  haste  across  their  pathway.  The 
north  wind  whipped  their  faces  into  crimson. 
Swiftly  they  sped  with  eyes  fixed  on  the  snow. 
There  were  the  tracks  of  a  fox,  that  had  been  par 
tridge  hunting.  There  was  the  trail  of  a  grey 
squirrel,  as  it  scampered  from  tree  to  tree.  There 
were  the  prints  where  the  hare's  broad  pads  had 
fallen.  The  hunters  wandered  far,  and  when  at 
last  they  found  the  deep  tracks  of  a  moose,  they 
hurried  faster  than  ever  over  the  deep-drifted  hol 
lows  and  up  the  frozen  water  courses,  but  night 
came  on  and  no  moose  was  yet  in  sight. 

Then  they  sought  shelter  in  a  cave  behind  a  snow 
drift.  The  cave  was  deep  and  dark,  and  their 
voices  sounded  strangely  through  the  silence. 
The  chief  peered  cautiously  around.  He  sniffed 
the  air.  "  Woof!"  he  said,  "Bears  have  been  here." 
But  they  saw  nothing  in  the  darkness  ;  they  heard 
nothing  but  their  own  quick  breathing. 

Then  they  scraped  dry  leaves  together  and  built 
a  fire  near  the  mouth  of  the  cavern.  Both  were 
very  tired,  and,  after  a  supper  of  parched  corn,  lay 
down  and  were  soon  fast  asleep. 

The  fire  flickered    and  smoldered  in  the  ashes. 


'MASSASOIT!"  HE  CRIED  AT  LAST. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  43 

The  wind  whistled  about  the  snow-drifts  at  the  en 
trance  of  the  cavern.  On  the  hunters  slept.  They 
were  dreaming,  perhaps,  of  the  moose  they  would 
find  on  the  morrow. 

But  what  is  that  slow,  dull  sound  as  of  something 
dragging  over  the  ground  ?  What  are  those  two 
balls  of  fire  coming  always  nearer?  What  is 
that  dark  shadow  creeping  out  of  the  yet  darker 
shadows  behind  it  ?  Still  the  hunters  sleep  on. 

Suddenly,  no  one  ever  knew  just  how  it  did  hap 
pen,  Bright  Eyes  was  wide  awake,  arid  saw  in  an 
instant  that  danger  was  near. 

O 

He  seized  the  stone  hatchet  at  his  side,  and 
sprang  toward  the  shadow.  High  in  the  air  a 
monster  bear  raised  its  shaggy  body,  and  the  boy 
felt  hot  breath  on  his  cheek  as  he  sprang  straight 
into  its  outstretched  arms.  But  before  the  sharp 
claws  could  bury  themselves  in  his  shoulder,  he 
dealt  mighty  blows  on  the  head  and  on  the  neck, 
and  then  pounded  away  in  wild  random,  until  the 
great  bear  fell  with  a  howl  at  his  feet.  The  up 
roar  roused  the  chief  from  his  slumber.  He  gazed 
at  the  mighty  beast  shaking  in  death  spasms  at  the 
feet  of  his  son.  He  rubbed  his  eyes  and  could 
hardly  believe  what  he  saw.  "Massasoit,"  he 
cried  at  last,  "  the  great  one,  the  brave  one  !  This 
shall  be  your  name,  my  Bright  Eyes.  Always 


44  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

henceforth  you  are  Massasoit,  for  who  has  done  a 
greater  deed  than  this  ? ';  Bright  Eyes  was  very 
glad  that  he  had  won  a  name.  Every  Indian  brave 
must  win  his  own  name,  and  it  had  grieved  him 
much  of  late  to  be  called  Bright  Eyes,  like  a  baby. 
Xow  they  piled  high  the  fire  with  brushwood,  and 
stripped  off  the  heavy  bearskin,  and  hung  it  up  in 
the  cave  to  dry.  Then  they  roasted  some  meat  for 
their  breakfasts.  Never,  surely,  was  there  sweeter, 
juicier  meat,  than  this  haunch  from  the  bear  that 
Massasoit  killed. 

It  was  very  early  morning  when  these  two  hun 
ters  followed  again  the  moose  tracks.  A  hare, 
white  and  silent,  ran  across  their  pathway.  That 
was  a  good  sign,  and  over  the  crackling  snow  they 
skated  on  their  snow-shoes. 

At  last  a  magnificent  moose  came  in  siofht,  toss- 

O  c5          ' 

in£  its  branching1  horns  and  throwing1  its  lono;  feet 

C5  O  O  O 

out  in  a  trot,  at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles  an  hour. 
And  then  the  fun  began.  It  may  be  that  the 
chief  did  not  run  at  his  utmost  speed,  and  that  he 
wanted  his  boy  to  catch  the  first  moose.  At  any 
rate,  Massasoit  kept  well  to  the  front  on  his  snow- 
shoes.  The  hemlocks  themselves,  seemed  running 
before  his  dizzy  eyes.  On  and  on  sped  the  two. 
Then,  at  last,  the  moose  broke  through  the  crust 
of  snow.  It  floundered  madly  in  its  struggles  to 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  45 

rise  again.     It  kicked  straight  out  with  its  hind 

feet,  and  whirled  around  to  beat  with  its  fore  feet. 

The  air  was  white  with  the  blinding  snow.     A 

o 

moment  more,  and  Massasoit  was  near  the  magnifi 
cent  creature,  with  his  father  close  behind.  Thick 
and  fast  fell  their  arrows,  until  the  noble  animal 
reeled  forward  and  fell  to  the  earth  with  a  last 
panting  breath. 

There  was  no  danger  now,  and  quickly,  while 
the  flesh  was  warm,  they  stripped  off  the  beautiful 
skin.  Then  they  cut  the  sweet  meat  from  the 
haunches,  and  bore  it  back  to  the  cavern,  and  with 
the  skins  of  the  moose  and  the  bear  they  returned 
to  the  lodge  on  the  Taunton. 

You  may  be  sure  there  was  rejoicing  in  the  vil 
lage  when  it  became  known  that  Bright  Eyes  had 
won  his  name. 

All  the  warriors  were  invited  to  a  great  feast 
and  they  came  in  paints  and  feathers.  The  sachem 
clothed  Bright  Eyes  in  a  new  doeskin,  and  put 
beads  about  his  neck  and  a  hatchet  in  his  hand, 
made  of  sharpened  stone,  and  set  in  a  staff  of  oak 
wood.  And  before  all  the  assembled  people  he 
called  him  "  Massasoit,  the  Great  One,  the  Brave 
One.7' 

That  was  a  proud  and  happy  day  for  Bright 
Eves.. 


46  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    FALL    HUNT. 

THERE  was  idling  among  the  warriors  in  the 
summer,  while  the  maize  was  growing. 

They  floated  lazily  down  the  river,  or  lounged 
about  in  the  shade  of  the  forest,  mending  nets  and 
sharpening  hatchets,  smoking  and  gossiping  the 
whole  day  through. 

But  in  autumn  they  were  very  busy,  for  this 
was  the  hunting  season,  when  game  was  killed  and 

Cz5  c? 

meat  was  dried  for  winter. 

It  was  in  autumn  that  Massasoit  went  with 
many  hunters  to  drive  the  woods.  They  spread 
through  the  forest  in  one  wide  circle,  leaving  an 
open  space,  and  then  they  drew  closer  and  closer 
together,  shouting  "  Heigh-eigh !  Who-oo-i-oo- 
who !  " 

The  frightened  game  heard  the  noises  and  tried 
to  escape.  The  antlered  deer  ran  through  the 
leafy  glades,  the  shaggy  bear  lumbered  out  of  his 
cave,  the  squirrels  scampered  through  the  branches, 
rabbits  leaped  through  the  thickets,  grouse,  part 
ridges,  turkeys  hurried  helter-skelter,  toward  the 


UF    NEW    ENGLAND.  47 

open  space  where  safety  seemed  to  lie.  But,  alas! 
Here,  erouched  in  ambush,  were  a  score  of  hunters. 
Arrows  flew  from  all  around  the  circle,  and  soon 
the  ground  was  strewn  Avith  wild  game.  Then  the 
skins  of  the  animals  were  stretched  on  the  ground, 
with  the  flesh  side  uppermost,  and  the  edges  pinned 
down  with  wooden  pegs,  that  they  might  not  shrink  ; 
the  meat  was  hung  on  drying  scaffolds ;  the  teeth 
were  strung  for  beads  ;  the  claws  were  made  into 
ornaments  ;  the  feathers  of  the  birds  were  plucked  ; 
the  skins  of  the  snakes  were  dried  ;  the  sinews  of 
the  deer  WQre  drawn  for  cords,  and  the  antlers 
polished  to  deck  some  warriors  in  the  war  dance. 
So  driving  the  woods  brought  a  great  deal  of  work. 

Then  there  was  the  fowling.  At  early  nightfall 
the  Indians  stalked  about  the  beach,  with  torch  in 
one  hand  and  stick  in  the  other.  The  seabirds  in 
the  marshes,  bewildered  by  the  sudden  glare  of 
the  torches,  flew  within  reach,  and  were  knocked 
down  by  the  dozen. 

Then  there  were  fishing  excursions.  Many  hun 
ters,  in  light  canoes,  sped  down  the  river  on  a 
chase  for  sturgeons.  They  caught  the  monster 
fishes  with  lines  of  twisted  willow  bark,  and  with 
the  thigh  bones  of  a  rabbit ;  or  they  held  them  fast 
in  stout  nets  of  hemp. 

In  the  lovely  Indian  summer,  when  the  north 


48  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

wind  painted  all  the  foliage  crimson  and  the  south 
wind  filled  the  air  with  haze  and  vapor,  the  villages 
were  moved  to  some  bay  or  to  the  falls  of  some 
winding  river.  Here  the  tents  were  pitched,  and 
grey  columns  of  smoke  ascended  from  hundreds 
of  campfires.  The  women  were  soon  hard  at  work 
cooking,  spreading  out  fresh  skins,  and  putting  up 
drying  scaffolds  for  the  meat.  The  children  ran 
about,  making  the  woods  resound  with  their  merry, 
piping  voices.  The  warriors,  when  they  were  not 
hunting,  lounged  about,  smoking,  or  sat  in  groups 
sorting  out  flints  they  had  picked  up  for  arrow 
heads,  and  chipped  slowly  with  stone  upon  stone 
as  they  chatted,  joked  and  bantered. 

It  was  all  very  much  like  a  country  fair.  There 
were  games  of  football  and  wrestling,  racing, 
throwing  stones  and  shooting  targets. 

Indian  fakirs  swallowed  spears  and  arrows  and 
flames  of  fire  ;  they  killed  a  boy  arid  brought  him 
back  to  life  again,  and  changed  a  rabbit  to  a  wild 
duck.  At  least  that  is  what  these  fakirs  claimed  to 
do,  and  many  said  they  really  did  all  these  wonder 
ful  things  right  before  the  eyes  of  all  the  people. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  gambling  and  betting 
on  games  of  chance  at  these  Indian  fairs. 

Cards  were  made  of  bits  of  rushes  and  dice  were 
made  of  painted  pebbles. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  49 

Sometimes,  in  his  wager,  an  unmarried  man 
lost  all  his  wampum,  his  bow  and  arrow,  the  furs 
which  clothed  him,  his  canoe,  and  even  the  very 
scalp  locks  he  had  \von  in  hard-fought  battles. 
Then,  when  he  had  nothing  else  to  wager,  he  staked 
his  own  body,  and  if  he  lost,  became  a  slave.  But 
an  Indian  in  bondage  pined  away  and  always 
wished  to  die,  and  his  service  wTas  not  thought  to 
be  of  much  account. 

There  were  many  mystic  dances  at  these  autumn 
picnics.  Drums  of  dried  bark,  flutes  of  willow,  and 
tortoise-shell  rattles  called  out  the  dancers  for  the 
amusement  of  all  the  village. 

First  they  moved  in  very  solemn  measures,  and 
stepped  in  and  out  among  the  pines  softly  like  the 
panthers.  Then  they  turned  around  in  circles, 
whirling  and  spinning,  until  they  leaped  quite  over 
the  heads  of  those  sitting  on  the  ground.  Round 
the  wigwams  they  flew  in  wider  circles,  faster  and 
faster,  until  the  dust  and  dried  leaves  rose  in  a 
whirlwind.  Then  they  ran  to  the  river's  brink, 
stamped  upon  the  sand,  and  tossed  it  until  the  very 
air  began  to  whirl  about  in  dancing,  and  the  sand 
was  blown  like  snow-drifts  all  along  the  river. 
Then  they  sat  down  laughing,  and  everybody 
laughed  and  chattered. 

The    Indians   were   all  great  story   lovers,  and 


50  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS  * 

they  gathered  with  eager  faces  about  the  blazing 
pine-knots  to  listen  to  those  who  had  the  gift  of 
telling  stories.  There  in  the  firelight  sat  Prairie 
Flower,  Morning  Glory,  May  Blossom,  Curling 
Smoke  and  all  the  other  Indian  beauties  waiting 
to  hear  the  stories  ;  and  the  loudest  praise  was 
given  to  the  one  who  talked  the  best.  He  always 
won  the  softest  glances  from  the  maidens,  and  so 
there  was  great  rivalry  among  the  warriors  to  ex 
cel  in  story  telling. 

In  the  fall  hunt,  when  Massasoit  was  thirteen 
years  old,  he  heard  many  good  stories. 

First  an  old  man,  a  famous  boaster,  told  the 
story  of  Osseo. 

"Many,  many  years  ago,"  he  said,  standing  up 
and  looking  round  the  circle,  "many,  many  years 
ago,  there  lived  a  hunter  in  the  north  land  who  had 
ten  lovely  daughters.  They  were  tall  and  straight 
as  the  willows.  But  Oweenee,  the  youngest,  was 
the  fairest  of  them  all.  Her  eyes  were  soft  and 
dreamy  like  the  fawrrs.  Her  hair  was  black  and 
glossy  as  the  raven's  wing.  Her  breath  was  as  sweet 
as  the  fragrance  of  the  wild  flowers.  Her  laugh 
was  like  the  singing  waters.  So  light  was  her  step 
that  the  flowers  in  her  pathway  only  bent  their 
heads  as  she  trod  upon  them  ;  and  so  skilful  was 
she  with  her  needle  and  her  wampum,  that  her 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  51 

father's  wigwam  was  more  beautiful  than  any  sac 
hem's  in  the  north  land. 

1 1  All  her  sisters  married  brave  and  haughty 
warriors  ;  and  young  and  handsome  suitors  laid 
their  roebucks  at  Oweenee's  doorway.  But  she 
would  not  even  look  at  any  of  them. 

"  Now  there  was  in  the  village,  the  son  of  a  great 
king,  although  no  one  knew  he  was  a  prince,  for  a 
wicked  magician  had  transformed  him  into  an  old 
man.  Everybody  thought  he  was  a  common  beg 
gar.  When  the  village  started  to  move,  this  beg 
gar  prince,  whose  name  was  Osseo,  always  stayed 
behind  to  pick  up  anything  that  had  been  thrown 
away  as  useless,  and  he  sometimes  found  pieces  of 
robes,  worn-out  moccasins,  and  bones  on  which 
was  a  bite  of  meat. 

11  His  face  was  all  wrinkles,  his  teeth  were  gone, 
his  legs  and  arms  were  shrunken  and  looked  like 
pipe  stems.  He  was  weak  with  constant  cough 
ing.  He  looked  so  broken  down  and  wheezy  that 
the  boys  jeered  at  him  as  he  begged  from  door 
to  door. 

u  But  each  time  the  lovely  Oweenee  gave  this 
stranger  bear's  meat,  she  saw  his  eyes  were  soft 
arid  full  of  sorrow.  And  she  fell  to  wondering 
who  this  beggar  might  be.  She  asked  him  many 
questions,  and  could  not  forget  the  magic  of  his 


52  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

glances,  and  at  length  she  began  to  listen  for  his 
tottering  footsteps. 

u  Once,  when  the  moon  filled  all  the  night  with 
splendor,  they  sat  beside  the  spring  which  bubbled 
from  the  hillside,  and  Oweenee  told  Osseo  that  she 
loved  him,  and  so  they  were  married. 

il  Then  all  her  former  suitors  mocked  her  for 
marrying  a  bag  of  bones,  and  said  they  wished  her 
joy  with  her  beggar.  But  Oweenee  told  them 
proudly  she  was  happy  with  Osseo. 

' '  And  every  day  she  walked  slowly  through  the 
village,  leading  her  aged  husband,  smoothing  out 
the  pathway  for  his  tottering  feet. 

'•  Once  all  ten  sisters  and  their  husbands  were 
invited  to  a  feast  a  long  way  off  through  the 
forest. 

'  The  nine  sisters  walked  ahead  and  chattered 
gayly  with  their  handsome  warriors,  and  filled  the 
\voods  with  laughter.  Behind  them  came  Owee 
nee,  leading  Osseo  gently  by  the  hand. 

' '  Sometimes  he  stopped  to  look  up  at  the  bright 
stars  overhead,  and  he  prayed  very  softly. 

"  When  the  sisters  looked  back  and  saw  him 
standing,  they  called  out  to  each  other,  '  What  a 
pity  that  he  does  not  fall  and  break  his  neck  ! ' 
Arid  they  fell  to  laughing  louder  than  ever. 

"At  length  they   came   to  a  hollow   oak-tree, 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  53 

which    had    fallen  across   the   path,  and   lay   half 
buried  in  dead  leaves  and  mosses. 

"  As  soon  as  Osseo  saw  this  great  log,  he  uttered 
a  cry  and  sprang  into  the  opening. 

"  Now,  when  he  went  in  at  one  end  of  the  log, 
he  was  ugly,  ragged,  old  and  wrinkled  ;  but  when 
he  came  out  of  the  other  end  he  was  tall  and  young 
and  handsome.  He  had  on  a  soft  white  shirt  of 
doeskin,  fringed  in  ermine,  and  worked  in  bands  of 
wampum.  His  leggings  were  of  deerskin,  gay 
with  the  quills  of  the  hedgehog.  His  moccasins 
were  of  buckskin,  embroidered  thick  with  quills 
and  beads,  and  on  his  head  were  waving  plumes 
of  snow-white  feathers.  There  he  was,  the  real 
prince,  just  as  he  had  been  before  the  wicked  ma 
gician  changed  him,  and  he  sprang  with  a  glad 
cry  toward  his  lovely  bride.  But,  alas !  at  the 
very  moment  that  the  spell  for  Osseo  was  broken, 
the  lovely  Oweenee  was  transformed  into  a  weak 
old  woman.  She  was  very  ugly,  bent  and  wrin 
kled. 

"The  sisters  laughed  louder  than  ever  at  this, 
for  they  had  always  envied  her  beauty.  They 
gazed  in  wonder  at  her  fine  young  husband,  and 
tried  with  all  their  arts  to  entice  him  from  Owee- 
nee's  side.  But  Osseo  walked  with  the  slow  steps 
of  his  old  wife.  He  held  her  yellow,  withered 


54  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

hand  in  his.  He  called  her  sweetheart,  and  did  all 
that  he  could  to  make  her  think  he  did  not  see  how 
very  ugly  she  was. 

"When  they  reached  the  feast,  all  sat  in  the 
wigwam  and  made  merry  except  Osseo.  He  could 
neither  eat  nor  drink.  He  could  not  speak  nor 
listen  to  anything  that  was  said.  Everybody  paid 
the  fine  young  fellow  great  attention.  They  passed 
him  the  choicest  meats,  but  he  sat  there  looking 
sadly  at  Oweenee. 

'  Then  a  low  A^oice  whispered  to  him,  '  Osseo, 
the  evil  charm  is  broken.7  And  then  the  lodge 
began  to  tremble.  The  wooden  dishes  changed  to 
scarlet  shells.  The  earthen  pots  changed  to  silver 
bowls.  The  roof  poles  and  the  bark  walls  of  the 
wigwam  changed  to  silver  and  to  jasper. 

"  At  the  same  time  the  wicked  sisters  and  their 
husbands  were  changed  to  birds.  Some  were  jays 
and  some  were  magpies.  Some  were  thrushes  and 
some  were  blackbirds.  They  hopped,  and  twit 
tered,  and  spread  out  their  plumage  as  if  they  had 
been  birds  all  their  lives. 

"  But  poor  Oweenee  was  not  changed  at  all.  It 
seemed  to  her  it  would  be  better  to  be  a  bird  than 
such  a  feeble  old  woman. 

"  There  she  sat,  wrinkled,  sad  and  ugly.  When 
Osseo  saw  her  thus  he  prayed  in  anguish  that  she 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  55 

might  be  restored  to  youth  and  beauty.  Woof! 
Woof!  Her  ragged  garments  were  changed  to 
robes  of  ermine.  Her  staff  became  a  shining  silver 
feather.  Her  eyes  shone  like  stars.  Her  hair  swept 
in  masses  to  her  feet,  She  was  more  beautiful  than 
before. 

"And  Osseo  arid  Oweenee  lived  happily  ever 
after.  But  the  wicked  sisters  and  their  husbands 
always  hopped  about  in  gilded  cages  as  a  punish 
ment  for  laughing  at  the  misfortunes  of  other 
people. 

"It  is  not  well/'  said  the  story-teller,  looking 
solemnly  around  at  some  giddy  young  folks,  "  it 
is  not  well  to  jeer  at  people  because  they  are  old 
and  ugly.'7 

Some  saw  a  pointed  moral  to  this  tale.  All  said 
it  was  a  beautiful  stor.y,  and  there  was  much  ap 
plause  as  the  old  man  took  his  seat  in  the  circle. 


50  THE    STURV    OF    THE    INDIANS 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

A  HUNTER'S  STORY. 

AFTER  the  old  man,  who  had  related  the  story  of 
Osseo,  had  resumed  his  seat,  a  young  warrior 
arose,  and  glancing  at  the  painted  maidens,  began 
to  tell  of  the  Marshpee  maiden. 

"Once/'  he  said,  "there  lived  among  the 
Marshpees,  a  maiden  named  Arva.  She  was  very 
silly  and  very  idle.  She  sat  whole  days  doing 
nothing1.  While  the  other  women  of  the  village 

O  o 

were  busy  weeding  out  the  corn,  bringing  home  the 
fuel,  drying  the  fish,  thatching  the  cabins,  or  mend 
ing  the  nets,  there  sat  this  maiden,  doing  nothing. 
"Then,  too,  even  if  she  had  been  thrifty,  she 
was  so  ugly  that  no  warrior  wanted  to  marry  her. 
She  squinted,  her  face  was  long  and  thin,  her  nose 
was  humped,  her  teeth  were  crooked,  her  chin  was 
as  sharp  as  the  bill  of  a  loon,  her  ears  were  as 
large  as  those  of  a  deer,  her  long  arms  were  noth 
ing  but  fleshless  bones,  her  legs  were  like  two  pine 
poles  stripped  of  their  bark.  She  was,  indeed,  so 
ugly  that  everybody  nearly  died  with  laughing 
when  they  saw  her. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  57 

"Now,  strange  to  say,  this  Marshpee  maiden 
had  the  most  beautiful  voice  in  the  world.  Noth 
ing  could  equal  the  sweetness  of  her  singing. 
There  was  a  low  hill  at  a  distance  from  the  village, 
and  here  she  often  sat  alone  and  sang  during  the 
long  summer  evenings.  As  soon  as  she  began  to 
sing,  the  branches  above  her  head  would  be  filled 
with  birds,  the  thickets  around  her  crowded  with 
beasts,  and  the  river,  which  was  not  far  from  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  would  be  alive  with  fishes. 

"Little  minnows  and  monster  porpoises,  spar 
rows  and  eagles,  snails  and  lobsters,  mice  and 
moles,  and  all  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  came  to  listen 
to  the  songs  of  the  ugly  Marshpee  maiden. 

"Whenever  she  had  finished  one  song,  she  was 
obliged  straightway  to  begin  another,  for  there 
were  growls  and  barks,  hisses  and  squeals  and 
squeaks  from  the  water  and  the  hillside,  where 
each  animal  applauded  in  the  very  best  way  he  knew 
how. 

"  Now,  among  the  fishes  that  came  every  night 
to  listen,  was  a  great  trout.  He  was  chief  of  the 
trout  that  hid  so  cunningly  among  the  roots  be 
neath  the  water,  that  no  snare  could  ever  catch 
them. 

' '  This  chief  of  the  trout  was  as  long  as  a  man 
and  quite  as  thick.  He  was  so  large  that  he  could 


58  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

not  approach  as  near  the  shore  as  he  wished,  and 
he  was  so  eager  to  hear  the  music  that  he  ran  his 
nose  more  and  more  into  the  soft  bank  of  the  river. 

' '  Every  night  he  dug  farther  and  farther,  till  at 
length  he  had  plowed  out  a  passage  very  wide  and 
longer  than  an  arrow's  flight,  which  became  a 
brook,  called  to  this  very  day  Coatuit  Brook. 

"One  night  he  spoke  to  the  songstress.  He 
could  not  see  how  ugly  she  was,  for  it  was  always 
dark  when  she  sang.  So  he  told  her  how  beautiful 
she  was,  and  said  so  many  flattering  things,  that 
in  the  end  the  poor  girl's  head  was  quite  turned. 
She  thought  the  gurgling  speech  of  her  fish  was 
the  sweetest  she  had  ever  heard,  and  she  listened 
to  him  for  hours,  and  fed  him  the  roots  he  liked. 

"  But  for  all  this,  the  maiden  and  her  lover  be 
came  very  unhappy,  for  he  could  not  live  on  the 
land  three  minutes  at  a  time,  and  she  could  not 
live  in  the  water.  They  shed  many  briny  tears. 
4  If  he  only  might  come  to  my  wigwam  !  '  sighed 
the  maiden.  '  If  she  might  only  swim  down  to 
my  grotto  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea !  '  groaned  the 
trout  king. 

u  One  night,  while  thus  lamenting,  they  heard  a 
strange  noise.  A  glowworm  lighted  up  the  hill 
side,  and  they  saw  a  little  man  before  them. 
Around  his  neck  was  a  string  of  bright  shells. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  59 

His  hair  was  as  green  as  ooze,  and  woven  with  the 
long  weeds  which  grow  among  the  corals  of  the 
ocean.  His  body  was  covered  with  scales,  and  his 
hands  were  shaped  like  the  fins  of  a  fish.  He  was 
the  king  of  all  the  fishes,  and  seemed  in  a  very  bad 
humor  indeed. 

11  He  asked,  frowning,  why  they  made  such  lam 
entation  that  he  could  not  sleep  in  his  palace  of 
pearls  in  the  depth  of  the  sea. 

"At  this  the  maiden  was  very  bashful  and  hid 
her  ugly  face  in  her  doeskin.  But  the  chief  of  the 
trout  spoke  up  boldly.  '  This  charming  Marshpee 
maiden  and  I  love  each  other  to  distraction/  he 
said,  '  but,  alas !  neither  of  us  can  live  where  the 
other  does.'  '  Grieve  not, '  said  the  little  green  man, 
'  I  will  transform  the  maiden  to  a  fish.'  So  he  led 
her  to  the  river,  and  sprinkled  water  over  her  head 
and  uttered  some  very  mysterious  wrords. 

"  Then  cries  of  pain  rose  on  the  night  air.  The 
body  of  the  maiden  became  covered  with  scales. 
Her  large  ears,  and  crooked  nose,  and  sharp  chin, 
and  long,  bony  arms,  were  gone  ;  her  legs  had 
grown  together.  She  had  become  a  trout,  and 
soon  the  pair  glided  lovingly  off  to  sea. 

"  But  the  Marshpee  maiden  never  forgot  her  old 
home,  and  one  night  in  every  year  two  immense 
trout  play  in  the  waters  of  Coatuit  Brook." 


60  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

When  this  story  was  ended  there  was  great  ap 
plause,  and  all  fell  to  talking  at  once.  Some  said 
that  they  knew  this  story  to  be  a  fact,  for  they 
themselves  had  seen  the  very  spot  where  it  all 
happened. 

Others  said  they  did  not  believe  a  word  of  it. 
To  be  sure,  there  was  a  brook  called  the  Coatuit, 
but  it  had  been  dug  out  by  the  giant,  Kwasind,  as 
he  pulled  his  skiff  down  to  the  river. 

The  dispute  about  the  Marshpee  maiden  was  loud 
and  long,  arid  has  never  been  quite  settled,  even 
down  to  the  present  day. 


OF   NEW    ENGLAND.  61 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TRADITION    OF    THE    WHITE    MEN. 

As  there  seemed  no  possible  way  to  settle  the 
dispute  about  the  origin  of  Coatuit  Brook,  another 
warrior  arose  to  tell  a  story,  and  then  everybody 
sat  quite  still  and  listened. 

11  Off  to  the  south,"  said  the  speaker,  who  was 
young  and  handsome,  and  had  a  very  winning1 
smile  as  he  looked  about  him,  "and  across  from 
Buzzard's  Bay,  is  the  island  of  Nope.  It  is  a  queer 
old  island,  full  of  caves  and  hillocks.  There  are 
high  cliffs  at  the  west  end,  formed  of  blue  and  yel 
low,  red  and  white  clays,  which  glitter  and  shim 
mer  in  the  sunshine.  A  long  time  ago,  there 
dwelt  near  the  west  end  of  this  island  a  good- 
natured  giant  who  was  very  fond  of  a  joke.  Some 
people  say  that  this  giant  Moshup  lived  near  the 
brook  that  wras  plowed  by  the  great  trout,  but  it 
was  on  the  island  of  Nope  that  he  lived. 

"  Moshup  was  so  big  that  when  he  caught  whales 
by  wading  into  the  sea,  he  tossed  them  out  as  boys 
do  black  bugs  from  a  puddle. 

"  He  was  taller  than  the  tallest  tree,  and  larger 


62  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

around  than  the  spread  of  the  hemlocks.  Faults  he 
had,  but  they  were  really  very  little  ones.  He  was 
cross  to  his  wife,  but  he  drank  nothing*  stronger 
than  water,  and  never  ate  more  than  a  small  whale 
at  one  meal.  He  smoked  too  much  tobacco.  That 
was  his  greatest  fault. 

"He  exacted  one-tenth  tribute  of  all  the  whales 
and  finbacks  which  might  be  taken  on  the  island, 
and  all  of  the  porpoises  caught  in  the  frog  month. 
Scarcity  he  bore  with  composure,  but  if  he  were 
cheated  ;  if  the  poorest  fish  were  sent  him  ;  or  a  hal 
ibut  hidden  ;  or  a  finback  were  sunk  with  a  buov 

«/ 

attached  to  it ;  or  a  fin  of  a  whale  was  buried  in 
the  sand,  he  straightway  fell  into  a  great  rage,  and 
the  Indians  paid  dearly  for  their  roguery. 

"  To  tell  the  truth,  it  was  not  to  their  interest  to 
cheat  Moshup.  He  often  directed  them  to  a  fine 
school  of  blackfish.  He  foretold  storms,  and  thus 
saved  many  fishermen  from  a  watery  grave.  He 
had  the  reputation  of  being  very  kind-hearted,  for 
he  assisted  young  people  in  their  courtships.  And 
if  a  father  said,  '  it  shall  not  be/  there  was  Moshup 
to  say  'it  shall  be,'  and  the  father  always  changed 
his  mind. 

"When  the  women  of  the  island  were  given  to 
scolding,  Moshup  had  a  knack  of  taming  them,  and, 
taking  it  all  together,  Moshup  was  a  great  favorite 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  63 

with  the  Indians  while  he  was  young.  But  as  he  grew 
old  he  grew  cross.  It  is  said  he  would  beat  his  wife 
for  nothing,  and  his  children  for  a  great  deal  less. 

"  He  exacted  a  half  of  a  whale,  instead  of  a  tenth, 
or  took  the  whole  of  it  without  asking  the  leave  of 
anybody. 

"  Instead  of  helping  marriages,  as  he  had  once 
done,  he  now  prevented  them.  He  set  friendly 
families  by  the  ear,  and  created  frequent  wars  be 
tween  the  tribes  on  the  island  of  Nope. 

' '  Then  he  frightened  the  wild  ducks  with  such 
terrific  shouts  that  the  archers  could  not  get  near 
them  ;  he  cut  the  traps  set  for  the  grouse.  In 
short,  Moshup  became  very  troublesome,  indeed. 

"  It  was  no  use  fretting.  He  was  firmly  seated 
on  their  necks,  and  there  was  no  shaking  him  off. 
But  in  the  end,  his  harsh  wrays  unpeopled  his  neigh 
borhood,  and  Moshup  and  his  family  had  the  west 
end  of  the  island  to  themselves. 

"Now,  in  the  south  part  of  Nope  lived  the  sa 
chem,  Niwasse.  He  was  very  wealthy  in  ponds 
well  stocked  with  perch,  clams,  oysters,  and  wild 
fowl,  and  in  swamps  full  of  terrapin,  and  he  had  a 
beautiful  daughter.  She  was  very  tall.  Her  hair 
was  long,  and  glossy  as  a  raven's  wing.  Her  step 
was  light  and  graceful.  She  drew  the  bow  like  a 
warrior,  and  her  father's  wigwam  was  full  of  suit- 


64  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

ors  for  her  hand.  But  she  laughed  at  all  their 
presents  of  conch  shells  and  eagle  feathers,  for  she 
already  loved  a  young  warrior  on  the  other  end  of 
the  island.  And  as  no  one  could  persuade  her 
father  to  consent  to  their  marriage,  there  was  noth 
ing  else  to  do  but  go  boldly  to  old  Moshup,  and 
lay  the  whole  matter  before  him.  The  lovers  ar 
rived  at  his  lodge  at  a  lucky  hour.  A  school  of 
whales  had  just  foundered  on  the  rocks,  and  he 
had  just  had  a  present  of  some  excellent  tobacco  ; 
so  he  determined  to  help  the  unhappy  pair. 

' '  He  put  a  few  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  in 
his  pouch,  and  set  out  on  the  journey  with  the  young 
warrior  on  his  shoulder,  and  the  maiden  in  a  litter 
formed  by  one  of  his  arms.  He  reached  the  sachem's 
lodge  in  a  twinkling.  '  Why  can  not  these  charm 
ing  young  people  wed  ? '  he  roared,  as  he  stooped 
to  look  in  at  the  doorway.  The  father  stammered 
out  something  about  the  youth's  poverty.  He  was 
not  celebrated.  He  had  won  only  three  scalp  locks. 
'  Is  that  all  the  trouble  ?  7  roared  the  giant,  '  What 
must  the  young  man  have  to  win  this  maiden  ? ' 

"  '  A.  great  deal  of  land — he  must  have  a  whole 

C5 

island,'  answered  Xiwasse.     '  Grood.     Follow  me  ! ' 
said  Moshup,  drawing  great  columns  of  smoke  into 
his    mouth,  ancl  blowing1  it  out  through  his  nose. 
Follow  me,' 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  65 

"  So  the  sachem  followed  as  fast  as  he  could, 
and  a  large  crowd  hurried  after  him  to  see  what 
the  giant  would  do. 

11  Now  Moshup  never  did  anything  by  halves. 
He  went  to  a  high  cliff  and  sat  down.  He  filled  his 
pipe  with  tobacco,  kindling  it  with  a  flash  of  light 
ning.  He  bowed  once  to  the  rising  sun,  twice  to 
the  north  star,  blew  three  times  in  a  conch  shell, 
muttered  some  strange  words,  and  fell  to  smoking 
at  a  great  rate. 

"  Thunder  rolled,  lightning  flashed,  rains  poured 

down.     Voices  were  heard  puffing  and  blowing  as 

of  men  in  great  labor.     The  watching  crowd  heard 

a  hissing  sound,  like  live  coals  dropped  into  water 

—Moshup  had  emptied  his  pipe. 

"And  behold,  when  the  mists  cleared  away, 
there  was  a  beautiful  island,  the  ashes  from  Mo 
shup  ?s  pipe  !  The  happy  pair  upon  whom  he  be 
stowed  this  island  named  it  Nantucket,  which  is  the 
name  it  bears  to  this  very  day. 

' '  As  for  Moshup  himself,  this  kind  office  seemed 
to  restore  his  good  nature,  and  for  many  years  it 
was  the  golden  age  on  the  island  of  Nope. 

"  But  there  is  an  end  to  all  things.  One  day  a 
queer  canoe,  large  enough  for  Moshup  himself, 
sailed  around  the  island,  borne  on  white  wings  and 
gliding  along  without  a  paddle  in  sight. 


66  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

' '  There  were  men  in  the  giant  canoe  whose  faces 
were  white  like  the  snow,  whose  eyes  were  blue 
like  the  sky  ;  and  their  hair  grew  all  over  their 
cheeks  and  chins  and  swept  down  to  their  waists. 
But  they  were  as  small  as  common  Indians,  and 
Moshup  laughed  as  he  waded  out  in  the  sea  to  up 
set  them.  Boom!  Boom!  Boom!  came  loud  thun 
der,  straight  from  the  side  of  the  vessel. 

11  Moshup  turned  and  fled  in  frantic  haste  from 
the  island.  He  leaped  across  the  channel  which 
divides  it  from  the  mainland,  and  was  never  again 
seen  in  the  Land  of  the  Bays." 

Before  the  loud  applause  for  this  fine  tale  had 
died  away,  an  old  warrior  arose,  and,  when  there 
was  silence,  said  he  had  heard  of  these  men  with 
white  faces.  They  had  once  been  seen  by  the  Nar- 
ragansetts  who  dwelt  across  the  bay.  He  said  he 
had  the  story  from  his  warrior  father,  who  had 
heard  it  from  a  Narragansett  slave. 

A  great  vessel  with  widespread  wings  had 
floated  up  the  bay.  It  was  much  too  big  for  the 
men  who  were  in  it,  for  they  were  really  no  larger 
than  common  Indians. 

But  these  Palefaces  were  a  mighty  race  of  men. 
They  held  the  thunder  in  their  hands,  and  sent  it 
roaring  in  thick  clouds  from  the  sides  of  their 
canoe.  Their  eyes  were  blue,  and  they  were 


MOSHUP  LAUGHED  AS  HE  WADED  OUT  IN  THE  SEA  TO  UPSET1  THEM. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  0  « 

clothed  from  head  to  foot  in  armor  which  shone 
like  the  sun. 

"They  came  on  land  and  stayed  among  the  Nar- 
ragansetts  for  half  a  moon.  They  wanted  furs, 
and  traded  the  most  beautiful  strings  of  wampum 
for  a  common  deerskin,  and  the  sharpest,  most  cun 
ning  knives,  for  a  pack  of  beaverskins.  They  were 
riot  shrewd  traders,  and  were  cheated  right  and 
left  by  the  Indians,  but  they  were  a  mighty  peo 
ple  with  their  thunder,  and  everybody  was  afraid 
to  go  near  their  camp. 

At  last  their  great  canoe  flapped  its  wings,  and 
sailed  away,  and  the  Palefaces  carried  oif  with 
them  a  young  Indian  boy,  the  son  of  a  chief. 
There  was  no  hope  of  getting  him  back.  No  one 
dared  go  near  the  vessel.  What  became  of  the 
lad  was  never  known,  and  there  was  sorrow  and 
lamentation  over  his  loss,  for  he  was  an  only  son. 
It  was  a  long  story  before  the  narrator  had  fin 
ished.  There  were  many  grunts  and  ugh's  !  and 
hi's  1  and  ho's  !  before  he  ended.  Then  it  was  the 
universal  opinion  that  the  Narragansetts  had  man 
ufactured  the  story. 

Now,  it  was  easy  for  the  people  of  Massasoit  to 
discredit  any  boasting  story  which  their  hated  rivals 
across  the  bay  might  tell  ;  and  they  really  did  not 
believe  that  a  word  of  this  which  they  heard  was  true. 


68  THE    STORY   OF    THE    INDIANS 

But  you  and  I  know  that  a  ship  from  France 
put  in  at  Narragansett  Bay  in  the  month  of  April, 
1524. 

This  was  written  to  Francis  I.  by  the  sailor  Yerraz- 
zani,  who  told  the  king  all  about  the  half-naked  In 
dians  that  had  surrounded  his  ship  with  their 
canoes,  and  gazed  in  wonder  at  the  armor  which 
he  wore. 

I  think,  too,  we  may  guess  that  the  strapping 
Moshup,  if  there  ever  was  such  a  jolly  old  giant, 
was  frightened  off  the  island  of  Nope,  or  Martha's 
Vineyard,  by  the  Norsemen,  who,  it  is  said,  visited 
all  that  region  in  the  Land  of  the  Bays  about  the 
year  1001. 


OF   NEW    ENGLAND.  69 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE    COMING    OF    THE    WHITE    MEN. 

IT  was  in  the  year  1585  that  Massasoit  first 
heard  stories  of  the  Palefaces.  Not  one  in  his 
tribe  believed  that  these  stories  were  true  ;  yet  we 
know  that  nearly  one  hundred  years  before  this, 
Christopher  Columbus  had  crossed  the  ocean  four 
times,  the  grandees  of  Spain  had  planted  colonies 
on  the  islands  of  the  West  Indies,  and  searched  in 
vain  through  all  the  mainland  for  fabled  cities  with 
gold-paved  streets. 

The  aged  Ponce  de  Leon  had  sought  the  magic 
fountain  of  youth  among  the  palm-trees  of  Florida, 
and  old  and  wrinkled  still,  had  died  from  an  In 
dian  arrow. 

Ferdinand  de  Soto  and  his  knights  had  wan 
dered  far  in  search  of  gold,  and  found  their  graves 
on  the  barren  shores  of  the  Mississippi  river  ;  and 
then,  twenty  years  before  this  very  time,  a  large 
colony  of  Spaniards  had  come  to  Florida  in  a  fleet 
of  ships,  to  found  the  beautiful  city  of  St.  Augus 
tine. 

But  all  these  visits  to  America  had  happened  far 


70  THE    STORY    OF   THE    INDIANS 

to  the  south,  where  the  Mobilian  Indians  dwelt 
and  the  Algonquins  in  the  Land  of  the  Bays  never 
wandered  southward,  and  did  not  understand  the 
Mobilian  language,  and  that  is  the  reason  Massa- 
soit's  people  had  not  heard  of  the  pale-faced  Span 
iards. 

Then,  too,  in  the  far  north,  the  Cabots  had 
ploughed  their  white-winged  ships  through  the 
shoals  of  codfish,  off  the  coast  of  Labrador  and 
Nova  Scotia.  French  fishermen  from  Normandy 
had  come  over  the  "morning  waters'7  in  their 
frail  barks  to  catch  the  fish,  and  dry  them  on  the 
rocks  of  New  Foundland.  Jacques  Cartier  had 
sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence  river,  and  eaten  in  the 
wigwams  of  an  Indian  village,  which  he  named 
Montreal. 

But  the  people  of  Massasoit  knew  nothing  of  all 
this  that  had  happened  in  the  north,  either  ;  for  the 
Mohawks  dwelt  there,  and  these  two  nations  never 
met,  except  in  deadly  combat. 

And  so,  as  I  said,  the  Wampanoags  did  not  be 
lieve  the  boastful  story  of  the  Narragansetts  about 
the  visit  of  Yerrazzani. 

But  the  very  next  year,  a  great,  white-winged 
ship  anchored  in  the  bay,  near  the  spot  where  Mas 
sasoit  and  his  father  and  many  warriors  were  in 
camp  for  the  fishing  season  ;  and  men,  who  wore 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  71 

shining  armor,  and  had  eyes  blue  like  the  sky,  and 
skins  white  like  the  snow,  just  as  the  Narragan- 
setts  had  said,  sprang  from  the  side  of  the  vessel.  It 
was  a  proud  day  for  the  warriors  ;  and,  trembling 
with  mingled  fear  and  delight,  they  hurried  down 
to  the  beach. 

One  of  the  strangers,  taller  and  fairer  than  the 
rest,  met  them  with  smiling  face  and  noble  bear 
ing.  He  clasped  the  hand  of  the  sachem,  and 
when  he  spoke  his  voice  was  gentle  and  kind. 

Now,  an  old  chronicle  says  that  Sir  Francis 
Drake  stopped  at  Cape  Cod  in  the  year  1586. 

The  great  admiral,  in  his  famous  voyage  around 
the  world,  had  once  cast  anchor  on  the  fragrant 
shores  of  California.  His  charming  smile  so  won 
the  hearts  of  the  natives,  that  they  crowned  him 
their  king,  and  wept  sorely  when  he  sailed  away. 

And  here,  in  the  Land  of  the  Bays,  the  same 
honors  awaited  him. 

The  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags  and  Massasoit, 
his  young  son,  and  all  the  dusky  warriors,  knelt  at 
the  feet  of  Sir  Francis,  and  implored  him  to  dwell 
among  them,  and  rule  them  as  their  king. 

He  might  take  Mioonie,  the  sister  of  Massasoit, 
for  his  wife,  they  said,  and  with  the  thunder  in  his 
hand,  he  might  lead  the  Wampanoags  on  the  war 
path  to  the  Narragansetts ;  he  might  even  unite 


72  THE    STORY    OP    THE    INDIANS 

together  all  the  quarreling  tribes  in  the  Land  of 
the  Bays — the  Narragansetts,  the  Tar  ratines,  the 
Massachusetts,  the  Pequods,  the  Mohegans,  the 
Wainpanoags,  and  lead  them  to  victory  over  the 
hated  Mohawks  in  the  north. 

Could  any  mortal  man,  even  a  Paleface,  wish 
greater  glory  than  this  ? 

But  Sir  Francis  looked  at  the  half-naked  sav 
ages,  and  then  he  thought  of  the  yoemen  of  Eng 
land,  with  cheeks  ruddy  from  the  freshness  of  the 
morning,  and  nerves  like  iron  from  the  toil  in  the 
fields.  He  looked  at  Massasoit,  the  prince,  and  at 
his  brothers,  and  at  the  young  sons  of  the  warriors, 
clad  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  and  gay  in  sea- 
shells  and  bear's  claws,  and  then  he  thought  of  the 
young  gallants  in  Elizabeth's  court  in  their  doub 
lets  of  scented  velvets,  their  long  silken  hose,  and 
golden  rapiers  hanging  at  their  sides.  He  looked 
at  the  wigwams  with  the  rows  of  ghastly  scalp 
locks,  the  earthen  pots  and  the  rude  beds  of  skin, 
and  then  he  thought  of  the  palaces  in  England, 
hung  with  rare  tapestries,  and  adorned  with  pic 
tures  and  books  ;  and  he  thought,  too,  of  the  neat 
farm-houses  with  paddocks  tacked  to  orchard  bits, 
and  floors  scrubbed  white  as  the  oak  of  which  they 
were  made,  and  beds  of  white  dimity,  and  open  win 
dows  through  which  the  breath  of  the  heather  came. 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  73 

He  looked  at  the  sad-eyed  squaws  bowed  down 
with  hard  toil  in  the  fields,  and  at  the  painted  In 
dian  maidens,  and  then  he  thought  of  the  merry 
farmers'  wives  in  clothes  of  their  own  spinning,  and 
the  joyous  dairymaids  in  leather  stays  and  white 
sleeves  with  white  kerchiefs  pinned  over  their 
necks,  laughing  to  the  morning  as  they  sought  the 
kine  among  the  hills  of  Devon. 

No,  he  could  not  become  their  king  and  dwell 
in  this  Land  of  the  Bays  so  far  from  the  scenes  of 
his  childhood. 

"  He  would  be  very  glad,77  he  said,  "  if  all  their 
tribes  would  unite  and  love  each  other  as  kindred 
nations  should,  but  he  could  not  lead  them  on  the 
warpath  to  the  Mohawks.77  Was  not  Philip  of 
Spain  at  that  very  moment  building  ships  to  in 
vade  the  shores  of  England  ?  And  was  not  his 
beloved  queen  calling  on  her  cavaliers  to  defend 
her  with  their  lives  ? 

So  Sir  Francis  Drake  did  not  linger  in  the  Land 
of  the  Bays,  and  the  white  sails  of  his  ship  spread 
to  the  breeze,  and  were  soon  lost  to  view  in  the 
mists  of  the  sea. 

Years  passed  by.  Massasoit  became  a  warrior, 
and  was  often  on  the  warpath  to  bring  back  the 
scalps  of  his  enemies  ;  and  he  became  renowned 
for  his  wisdom  and  skill. 


74  THE    STORY   OF    THE    INDIANS 

He  learned  to  love  a  maiden,  a  kind  and  gentle 
maiden.  And  when  he  went  to  visit  her,  he  spent 
many  hours  laying  on  the  paints  of  red  and  blue 
and  white,  smoothing  out  his  tresses  and  twisting 
in  the  braids  the  quills  of  the  hedgehog.  He 
donned  his  finest  leggings  and  moccasins,  he 
clasped  broad  bands  of  silver  on  his  arms,  and 
chains  of  bear's  teeth  and  red  hawthorn  berries  on 
his  neck  ;  he  hung  bright  plates  of  copper  in  his 
ears. 

And  then  once  on  a  warm  June  evening,  as  he 
wandered  with  the  maiden  by  the  river,  he  said  no 
word  of  love,  but  he  gave  the  snowy  locust  blos 
soms  to  her  as  a  token,  and  she  took  the  fragrant 
offering,  smiling  shyly  at  his  glances. 

Then  this  lover  grew  bolder  in  his  wooing,  and 
carried  the  finest  roebuck  to  the  doorway  of  her 
father's  wigwam. 

u  Welcome  !  "  said  the  warrior  father  ;  but  the 
maiden  only  looked  her  welcome. 

Then  he  entered  the  lodge,  and  sat  down  on  a 
mat  quite  near  her,  and  she  did  not  rise  to  leave 
him.  Then  he  put  about  her  neck  the  purple 
wampum,  always  worn  by  the  wives  of  the  sa 
chems,  and  so  these  two  were  married.  And  Mas- 
sasoit  was  very  proud  and  happy  as  he  led  the  dear 
one  to  his  wigwam. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  75 

A  few  years  after  this  the  father  of  Massasoit 
died,  and  there  was  lamentation  among  all  the 
tribes  that  paid  him  tribute. 

The  body  of  the  great  chief  was  wrapped  in  the 
finest  mats,  and  he  was  buried,  sitting,  with  his 
hands  upon  his  knees.  His  tomahawk  and  wam 
pum,  his  bright  paints,  a  little  corn,  and  a  few 
pieces  of  wood  to  make  a  fire  on  his  long  journey 
to  the  Happy  Hunting  Grounds,  were  placed  in 
the  grave  by  his  side. 

And  his  brilliant  mantle  of  feathers  was  hung 
on  the  limbs  of  the  nearest  tree,  where  it  swayed 
mournfully  in  the  wind  to  remind  the  passers-by,  of 
him  who  lay  buried  beneath  the  spreading  branches. 


76  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

CHAPTER  XL 

MASSASOIT,    THE    KING. 

MASSASOIT  was  chosen  king*  after  the  death  of 

o 

his  father,  and  many  tribes  came  to  his  lodge  to 
pay  him  tribute. 

Now  Massasoit  was  not  so  proud  and  haughty 
as  his  father  had  been,  for  he  had  seen  the  shining 
armor  of  the  white  men,  and  his  own  powers 
seemed  mean  and  little  when  he  thought  of  the 
thunder  they  held  in  their  hands. 

He  chose  as  his  capital  seat  a  beautiful  spot  near 
Narragansett  Bay,  called  Sowarns,  where  the  town 
of  Warren,  Rhode  Island,  now  is. 

The  Indians  did  not  build  houses,  dig  wells, 
plant  orchards,  fence  in  pastures  arid  make  some 
one  place  a  home  for  themselves  and  their  families 
as  long  as  they  lived. 

They  dwelt  in  tents,  their  water  was  from  the 
springs  or  running  brooks,  they  had  no  flocks  and 
no  orchards,  and  because  it  was  easy  to  move,  they 
were  always  moving.  And  so  they  were  divided 
up  into  little  bands,  and  every  pond  and  water 
fall,  and  neck  of  land,  and  almost  every  hill,  had 
its  own  tribe  under  its  own  chief. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  77 

But  all  these  petty  chiefs,  from  the  Cape  of 
Storms  to  the  east  side  of  Narragansett  Bay,  in 
cluding*  the  island  of  Nope,  JNTantucket,  and  the 
many  other  islands  dotting  the  sea  along  the  coast, 
were  under  tribute  to  Massasoit,  king  of  the  Wani- 
panoags.  It  required  great  skill  to  rule  over  so 
many  different  clans,  but  the  young  king  was  wise 
in  council  and  brave  in  war  ;  and  he  was  so  £:en- 

"  o 

erous  that  other  sachems  in  the  Land  of  the  Bays, 
who  had  been  at  war  with  his  father,  came  to  Mas 
sasoit  to  bury  the  hatchet, 

"Let  us  dig  up  yonder  oak,"  said  one,  "and 
bury  our  hatchet  beneath  its  roots."  "  Nay,"  said 
another,  ' '  the  strong  winds  from  the  northwest 
might  one  day  lay  the  mighty  oak  in  the  dust. 
Let  us  lift  up  yonder  high  mountain  whose  peak 
reaches  to  the  sky,  and  bury  our  hatchet  beneath  it." 

"Ah,"  said  another,  "who  of  us  has  the  power 
of  a  Manitou  that  he  can  remove  a  mountain  from 
its  base  ?  Yonder  is  the  lovely  bay  of  Narragan- 
sett.  Let  us  throw  our  hatchet  far  out  beneath  the 
smiling  waters,  that  it  may  never  again  sever  the 
bonds  of  our  friendship."  And  so  the  flint  hatchet 
was  buried  far  out  in  the  sea,  and  these  nations 
dwelt  at  peace  with  one  another. 

But  across  the  bay  on  the  west  were  the  hated 
JSTarragansetts,  who  would  not  bury  the  hatchet  ; 


rO  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

for  they  could  not  forget  the  ancient  feuds  of  their 
fathers. 

In  1602  an  English  ship,  under  command  of 
Bartholomew  Gosnold,  sailed  to  the  Cape  of  Storms, 
and  many  small  skiffs  were  let  down  from  its  high 
deck  to  cast  nets  into  the  sea.  The  fishermen  made 
such  draughts  of  codfish  that  they  called  the  place 
Cape  Cod.  Five  of  them  came  ashore,  but  only 
for  a  day,  and  Massasoit  did  not  see  them,  because 
it  was  late  for  the  fishing  season  when  he  and  his 
warriors  were  in  the  habit  of  going  into  camp  on 
the  Cape  of  Storms. 

Gosnold  soon  embarked  for  Nope,  the  giant  Mo- 
shup's  island,  which  he  called  Martha's  Vineyard . 
He  sailed  all  around  Martha's  Yineyard,  then  landed 
to  explore  it,  and  found  it  was  covered  with  for 
ests  ;  fruits  furnished  food,  and  flowers  delighted 
the  eye  at  every  turn  ;  the  honeysuckle,  the  wild 
pea,  the  eglantine  and  roses  filled  the  air  with  per 
fume.  Young  sassafras,  which  brought  a  great 
price  in  England  as  a  medicine,  promised  the  for 
tune  of  a  gold-mine  ;  while  the  deer  which  bounded 
through  the  leafy  glades,  and  the  beaver  with  vil 
lages  on  every  stream,  made  the  fishermen  think 
that  this  land  was,  indeed,  a  paradise  for  hunters 
and  trappers. 

After  passing  the  beautiful  cliffs  on  the  west  end 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  79 

of  the  island,  they  discovered  a  little  lake,  and  in 
the  lake  a  rocky  islet.  Nothing  could  be  better 
for  a  colony  than  this,  they  thought,  and  so  they 
built  a  storehouse  and  fort  on  the  islet,  and  sur 
rounded  it  with  a  high  palisade  as  a  defense  against 
the  Indians,  should  they  prove  hostile.  Then  they 
brought  their  fishing  boats  from  the  ship,  and  be 
gan  to  feel  much  at  home  in  the  new  world. 

Soon  an  Indian  chief  came  with  fifty  warriors  to 
make  them  a  friendly  visit,  and  Captain  Gosnold 
presented  the  chief  with  two  knives  and  a  straw 
hat.  The  warrior  did  not  seem  to  regard  the  hat, 
but  the  knives  made  a  great  impression.  He  whit 
tled  and  shaved  everything  he  could  lay  his  hands 
on,  and  in  the  end  his  leggings  were  a  sorry  sight, 
with  the  slits  and  gashes  made  by  the  magic  knives. 

The  white  men  gave  their  guests  a  feast  of 
roasted  crabs  and  broiled  lobsters,  and  served  scal 
lops  with  mustard,  which  nipped  their  noses  and 
caused  them  to  make  such  wry  faces  that  every 
body  laughed.  After  this  a  brisk  trade  was  car 
ried  on  with  the  Indians,  and,  in  a  few  weeks,  the 
ship  of  Gosnold  was  loaded  with  furs  and  sassafras, 
and  the  captain  prepared  to  return  to  England  with 
his  cargo  ;  he  picked  out  the  bravest  of  his  men  to 
remain  in  the  fort  and  collect  another  cargo,  while 
he  was  absent  on  the  voyage.  But  when  the  sails 


80  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

of  the  ship  were  set,  the  hearts  of  these  men  failed 
them.  They  dreaded  an  attack  from  the  Indians, 
and  all  embarked  for  England.  And  so  only  a 
fort,  which  was  soon  overgrown  with  rank  weeds 
and  clambering  vines,  remained  to  tell  of  the  set 
tlement  planted  in  the  Land  of  the  Bays  by  Bar 
tholomew  Gosnold  in  1602. 


OF   NEW    ENGLAND.  81 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    PLAGUE. 

IN  1614  Captain  John  Smith  came  to  Cape  Cod. 
This  Captain  Smith  was  a  wonderful  man,  if  every 
thing  is  true  that  is  said  about  him.  Before  he 
was  thirteen,  his  father  died,  and  John  ran  off  to 
sea.  He  fought  against  the  Spaniards,  and  after 
a  time  started  to  try  his  fortune  against  the  Turks. 

On  the  way  he  was  set  upon  by  robbers,  stripped 
of  his  clothes  and  money,  and  left  to  die  in  the  for 
est,  but  was  found  by  a  peasant  and  nursed  back 
to  health  again. 

o 

Then  he  fell  in  with  a  French  vessel  at  Marseilles, 
which  captured  a  Venetian  merchant  ship,  and  he 
shared  in  the  plunder. 

With  his  pockets  full  of  money,  he  joined  a  com 
pany  of  pilgrims  on  the  way  to  the  Holy  Land, 
arid  such  a  violent  storm  arose  immediately  after 
embarking  in  the  vessel,  that  these  pilgrims  said  he 
was  a  second  Jonah,  and  threw  him  overboard  to 
the  whales.  The  boy  did  not  wait  for  a  whale,  but 
swam  like  a  drowning  rat  to  an  island,  hailed  a 
passing  ship,  and  soon  after  reached  the  army  in 


82  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Hungary,  for  which  he  had  started.  Here  he  was 
very  useful,  and  invented  fireworks  to  help  drive  the 
Turks  away  from  Lymbach,  which  they  were  be 
sieging. 

As  the  Turkish  army  lay  opposite  the  army  of 
the  Christians,  three  champion  Turks,  one  after  the 
other,  stepped  forth  from  the  line  of  battle  and 
challenged  some  cavalier  to  mortal  combat.  Smith 
encountered  them,  one  after  the  other,  and  cut  off 
their  heads  ;  and  he  was  made  a  captain  of  the 
horse  for  his  many  feats  at  arms. 

A  Tartar  prince  captured  him  soon  after  with 
several  of  his  countrymen,  and  they  were  sold  in  a 
slave-market  near  Adrianople. 

A  pasha  bought  him  to  be  his  cupbearer  in  a 
very  grand  palace,  and  Smith  looked  so  handsome 
in  his  long  embroidered  robes  that  the  wife  of  the 
pasha  fell  in  love  with  him. 

Then  the  husband,  in  a  jealous  rage,  planned  to 
sell  him  into  worse  bondage  ;  but  the  beautiful 
wife  sent  him  secretly  to  her  brother  on  the  Black 
Sea  for  safe  keeping. 

Instead  of  caring  for  him,  this  wicked  brother 
stripped  off  his  fine  silken  garments,  clothed  him  in 
a  coarse  hair  coat,  girded  about  with  a  thong  of  skin, 
shaved  his  head  and  beard,  riveted  a  great  ring  of 
iron  about  his  neck,  and  made  him  the  slave  of  slaves. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  83 

Smith  watched  and  planned  for  an  escape,  and 
one  day,  when  he  found  himself  alone  with  his 
overseer,  he  struck  him  to  the  ground  with  his 
threshing  bat,  stripped  the  clothes  from  the  body 
and  hid  it  under  the  straw. 

Then  he  dressed  himself  in  the  clothes  of  the 
Turk,  filled  a  sack  with  corn,  shut  the  door  of  the 
prison,  mounted  a  horse,  and  fled  to  the  desert, 
where  he  wandered  about  until  he  fell  in  with  some 
Christians,  who  were  making  a  pilgrimage.  He 
roamed  all  over  Europe,  and  at  last  reached  Eng 
land  just  in  time  to  sail  for  America.  Now  every 
body  was  talking  about  America  at  this  time. 

Many  merchants  had  become  rich  by  traffic  with 
the  Indians  in  furs  and  sassafras  ;  and  as  for  the 
fishing  trade,  it  had  created  a  codfish  aristocracy 
which  the  nobles  said  would  soon  undermine  the 
very  foundations  of  polite  society. 

But  King  James  was  anxious  to  have  the  New 

B 

World  settled,  arid  he  encouraged  the  fisheries  and 
the  traffic  in  furs.  He  divided  all  the  land  which 
he  claimed  in  America,  and  which  was  called  Vir 
ginia,  between  two  companies  of  merchants.  To  the 
London  Company  he  gave  South  Virginia,  and  to 
the  Plymouth  Company  he  gave  North  Virginia, 
which  included  the  Land  of  the  Bays. 

Now  the  London  Company  was  just  sending  over 


84  THE    STORY    OP    THE    INDIANS 

ships  to  plant  a  colony  in  South  Virginia,  when 
Captain  John  Smith  reached  England.  "Here  is 
a  chance  to  see  something  more  of  the  world,"  said 
Smith,  and  without  a  day's  delay  he  stepped  on  the 
hatchway  of  one  of  the  vessels.  The  heavy  sails 
swelled  out  before  the  winds,  and  in  due  course  of 
time  about  a  hundred  passengers  landed  on  the 
shores  of  a  beautiful  river,  which  they  called  the 
James,  in  honor  of  the  king  ;  and  in  the  month  of 
May.  1607,  began  to  lay  out  Jamestown. 

So  Captain  Smith  helped  to  found  the  first  per 
manent  English  settlement  in  America.  He  be 
came  governor  of  Jamestown,  and  remained  there 
three  years,  exploring  the  coast  and  meeting  with 
many  adventures. 

Once  he  was  taken  captive  by  the  Indians,  and 
spent  his  time  for  several  weeks  whittling  dolls 
and  making  many  curious  playthings,  for  a  ten- 
year-old  Indian  princess,  who,  it  is  said,  saved  him 
from  death  by  throwing  herself  before  him  just  as 
a  cruel  tomahawk  was  raised  above  his  head. 

Smith  was  wounded  at  last  by  an  explosion  of 
gunpowder,  and  returned  to  England.  He  was 
soon  sought  out  by  the  Plymouth  Company  to  go 
to  North  Virginia  to  take  whales,  and  search  for 
mines  of  gold  and  copper. 

So  two  ships,  one  under  command    of  Captain 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  85 

John  Smith,  and  the  other  under  Thomas  Hunt, 
sailed  from  the  Downes  of  England,  and  in  March, 
1614,  made  the  shores  of  Penobscot  Bay,  which  was 
already  a  famous  resort  for  fishermen. 

While  Hunt  and  his  men  were  busy  harpooning 
whales  and  trading  with  the  Indians,  Smith  ex 
plored  the  coast  of  the  Land  of  the  Bays.  He 
drew  a  map  from  point  to  point,  and  harbor  to  har 
bor,  and  rowed  up  a  broad  river  which  he  named 
the  Charles,  after  the  young  prince  of  that  name, 
and  he  stopped  at  a  harbor  which  he  called  Ply 
mouth,  after  the  busy  seaport  town  in  England. 

Now,  while  Captain  Smith  was  serving  his  com 
pany  by  noting  all  the  places  where  the  merchant 
ships  might  anchor,  and  jotting  down  locations  for 
the  cities  of  the  future,  Captain  Hunt  was  serving 
them  in  quite  a  different  way.  He  had  filled  his 
vessel  with  whale  blubber  and  furs,  and  then,  to 
make  his  cargo  still  more  profitable,  he  kidnapped 
twenty  Indians  from  Plymouth,  and  seven  from 
Cape  Cod,  to  sell  as  slaves  in  the  markets  of  Spain. 

The  cries  of  the  unhappy  prisoners  rang  out  over 
the  waters  as  the  ship  sailed  away,  but  those  who 
followed  in  canoes  to  rescue  them,  received  a  volley 
of  shot  and  returned  to  the  shore,  vowing  vengeance 
on  the  Palefaces. 

So,  when  two  French  fishing  smacks  came  sail- 


86  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

ing-  into  Massachusetts  Bay,  how  should  these  poor 
Indians  know  that  they  were  not  the  English  in 
search  of  more  slaves  ? 

They  set  upon  the  Frenchmen  and  massacred 
all  but  five,  who  were  held  in  wretched  bondage, 
and  sent  from  one  sachem  to  another,  to  perform 
the  most  degrading  labor. 

It  is  said  that  one  of  them  had  saved  a  Bible 
from  the  wreck  of  the  ship,  and  after  he  had 
learned  the  language  of  the  Indians,  he  told  them 
that  the  God  of  the  white  men  would  send  punish 
ment  upon  the  red  men,  because  they  had  killed  the 
French  sailors,  who  never  did  them  any  wrong. 
He  told  them  that  they  would  one  day  be  de 
stroyed  and  wiped  off  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  for 
the  white  man's  God  was  very  angry ;  and  to 
prove  his  words,  he  read  the  passage,  "  'Vengeance 
is  mine,7  saith  the  Lord.'7 

But  the  sachem  of  the  Massachusetts  tribe,  by 
whom  the  men  had  been  killed,  led  the  Frenchman 
to  a  high  hill.  He  looked  down  on  the  wigwams 
which  dotted  the  streams  and  the  cornfields,  and  the 
plantations  of  tobacco  and  vines  along  the  beauti 
ful  bay.  "Ah,"  he  exclaimed,  "the  Massachu 
setts  are  such  a  great  nation  that  the  white  man's 
God  cannot  destroy  us  all.  Behold  our  fields  and 
our  wigwams." 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  87 

A  very  short  time  after,  a  terrible  plague  swept 
over  the  fair  country,  and  hardly  one  hundred  of 
all  the  three  thousand  warriors  who  dwelt  about 
the  bay  escaped.  But  the  sorrow  was  not  among 
the  Massachusetts  alone,  for  the  Wampanoags,  and 
all  their  other  allies,  were  afflicted.  Massasoitsaw 
thousands  of  his  people  perish.  He  mourned 
deeply  and  prayed  long  hours  before  the  little 
bundle  of  skins  which  hung  in  his  lodge,  implor 
ing  the  Great  Spirit  to  spare  his  warriors  ;  but 
they  were  stricken  down  so  fast  by  the  dread  dis 
ease,  that  soon  the  living  could  not  bury  the 
dead. 

Then  he  looked  across  the  bay,  and  saw  that  not 
one  of  his  enemies  had  fallen.  And  when  he  learned 
that  only  the  Massachusetts  and  their  friends  had 
been  scourged  by  the  plague,  he  remembered  how 
the  Massachusetts  had  slain  the  Frenchmen ;  and 
he  said  that  the  slave  with  the  Bible  had  spoken 
truly,  for  they  wTere  being  punished  by  the  white 
man's  God. 

And  so  the  story  went  about,  and,  like  every  story, 
grew  larger  and  larger  as  it  went,  that  the  white 
men  held  the  demon  of  the  plague,  and  had  sent  it 
across  the  morning  waters  to  destroy  them. 

Massasoit  believed  this  story,  and  all  the  Indians 
who  dwelt  in  the  Land  of  the  Bays  believed  it. 


88  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    PILGRIMS. 

IT  was  in  the  time  of  u  good  Queen  Bess  "  that 
Sir  Francis  Drake  had,  if  report  be  true,  visited 
the  Land  of  the  Bays. 

It  was  during  this  reign  also  that  oppressions 
about  religion  began  in  England. 

O  O  CJ 

Laws  were  made  by  the  queen  and  her  bishops, 
imposing  severe  penalties  on  those  who  refused  to 
conform  to  all  the  rules  of  the  English  church. 

Prayers  were  to  be  read  from  a  book,  and  there 
were  many  ceremonies  which  some  people  did  not 
like  at  all,  and  yet  were  forced  to  observe. 

Those  over  sixteen  years  of  age,  who  refused  to 
go  to  the  church  assigned  them  by  the  bishop,  were 
cast  into  prison,  and  if  they  stayed  away  three 
months  they  might  be  put  to  death. 

In  1602  several  persons  in  the  north  of  England 
met  together  at  Scrooby,  to  pray  to  God  as  they 
saw  fit,  and  when  this  became  known,  they  were 
thrown  into  prison  and  persecuted  in  so  many  ways, 
that  they  resolved  to  seek  a  home  in  Holland,  where 
they  might  worship  as  they  pleased. 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  89 

By  the  time  they  were  ready  to  go,  James  I. 
was  king  in  England.  He  was  even  more  severe 
about  church  going  than  Queen  Elizabeth  had 
been  ;  and  when  he  learned  that  this  new  sect  was 
planning  to  leave  England,  set  guards  to  watch 
the  ports  and  harbors  day  and  night. 

After  many  efforts  to  escape  the  vigilance  of  the 
police,  twenty-two  families  succeeded  in  embark 
ing  for  Holland,  and  because  they  wandered  from 
place  to  place,  they  were  called  Pilgrims. 

These  Pilgrims  settled  at  last  on  a  tract  of  land 
in  the  city  of  Leyden,  where  they  built  a  house  for 
each  family,  and  lived  to  themselves  and  worship 
ped  as  they  pleased. 

Now,  Holland  was  proud  of  her  reputation  as  a 
refuge  for  heretics  from  all  over  Europe,  and  be 
cause  these  Pilgrims  were  honest  and  industrious, 
they  were  treated  kindly  and  greatly  respected  by 
the  good  burghers  of  Leyden. 

The  little  colony  soon  increased  in  numbers,  and 
among  those  who  came  were  young  Edward  Wins- 
low  and  John  Carver,  who  brought  their  brides 

o 

from  England.     These  two  men  became,  later  on, 
very  prominent  in  American  colonial  affairs. 

The  Pilgrims  lived  twelve- years  in  Leyden,  and 
were  noted  for  their  intelligence  and  thrift  ;  but 
they  were  the  subject  of  many  a  jest  back  in  Eng- 


90  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

land,   and  were  called  the    "pinched    fanatics  of 
Ley  den  "  by  the  gay  courtiers  of  King  James. 

Now,  during  all  these  years  it  was  very  difficult 
for  the  English  to  become  accustomed  to  the 
strange  customs  and  language  of  the  Dutch  ;  and 
try  as  hard  as  they  might,  some  of  them  could  not 
make  enough  money  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the 
door. 

The  boys  were  going  off  to  sea,  or  joining  the 
army,  for  want  of  anything  else  to  do,  and  the 
children  were  fast  learning  the  Dutch  language 
and  ways  of  living. 

The  Pilgrims  were  still  greatly  attached  to  Eng 
land,  and  wished  to  find  a  home  where  they  might 
live  in  the  dear  old  English  way,  and  at  the  same 
time  be  free  to  worship  as  they  pleased.  They 
planned  to  go  to  South  America,  and  then  they 
thought  they  would  go  to  the  new  colony  in  Vir 
ginia  ;  but  when  they  heard  of  a  beautiful  river 
which  Henry  Hudson  had  discovered  while  on  a 
voyage  for  the  Dutch,  they  said  this  was  the  prom 
ised  land  for  which  they  had  sought ;  and  as  King 
James  claimed  the  river  on  account  of  the  discov 
eries  of  the  Cabots,  they  resolved  to  obtain  his  per 
mission  to  settle  on  its  banks. 

So  they  sent  Elder  William  Brewster  to  England 
to  act  as  their  agent  in  the  matter. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  91 

At  first  they  were  refused  the  right  to  settle  in 
America,  because  they  were  Pilgrims,  but  after 
spending  much  time  and  money,  they  were  allowed 
to  plant  a  colony  on  the  Hudson. 

And  so  the  youngest  and  strongest  of  the  Pil 
grim  band  in  Leyden  were  chosen  to  go  across  the 
sea,  under  the  guidance  of  Elder  Brewster,  to  pre 
pare  the  way  for  the  rest. 

Several  of  the  richest  of  them  sold  their  estates, 
put  their  money  together  and  bought  the  little 
ship  Speedwell  in  Amsterdam ;  then,  with  friends 
in  England  who  wished  to  join  them,  they  hired 
the  Mayflower,  a  larger  ship,  and  soon  the  Speed 
well  sailed  out  of  the  little  harbor  of  Delft  Haven 
to  meet  the  Mayflower  at  Southampton.  As  these 
young  Pilgrims  disappeared  in  the  mists  of  the  sea, 
they  were  followed  by  the  prayers  of  the  Leyden 
congregation,  who  had  accompanied  them  to  the 
little  seaport  town  to  say  good-bye.  It  was  a  sad 
parting  ;  for  it  was  a  long  and  dangerous  voyage 
to  America,  and  they  knew  not  if  they  might  ever 
meet  again.  In  a  few  days  the  Speedwell  and  the 
Mayflower  set  their  sails  against  the  wind ;  but  the 
Speedwell  was  found  to  be  leaky,  and  both  ships 
put  into  port,  where  they  lay  at  anchor  eight  days 
for  repairs. 

Again    the    sails    were    set ;  but   the  shattered 


92  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Speedwell  could  not  make  headway,  sailed  back  to 
Plymouth,  and  was  finally  abandoned  as  unsea- 
worthy.  The  most  zealous  of  her  passengers  w^ent 
on  board  the  Mayflower  •  and  on  the  sixth  of  Sep 
tember,  1620,  one  hundred  and  two  brave  men 
and  women  and  children  set  their  faces  toward  the 
sea. 

Some  one  said  that  God  sifted  a  whole  nation, 
that  he  might  send  choice  grain  into  the  wilder 
ness,  and  I  think  you  will  agree  with  this  saying 
when  you  know  what  these  people  accomplished  in 
America  during  the  next  few  years. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  93 

CHAPTER  XIY. 

PLYMOUTH. 

tossed  the  Mayflower  about  the  sea  for 
nine  long  weeks,  and  when  at  last  land  came  in 
sight,  it  proved  to  be  Cape  Cod.  This  was  several 
hundred  miles  north  of  the  Hudson  river,  where 
the  Pilgrims  wished  to  go,  and  so  they  turned 
about,  to  sail  to  the  south.  But  the  ship  ran  into 
shoals  and  breakers,  and  narrowly  escaped  a  wreck. 
So  they  returned  to  Cape  Cod  harbor ;  but  there 
were  only  long  stretches  of  white  sand  banks,  and 
a  few  straggling  pines  along  this  coast,  and  they 
decided  to  send  off  explorers  to  look  for  a  better 
place  to  land. 

Before  any  left  the  ship,  they  made  a  set  of  laws 
which  all  promised  to  obey,  and  chose  John  Car 
ver  to  be  governor  of  the  colony  for  one  year. 

Then  Captain  Miles  Standish  and  a  few  others 
went  in  search  of  a  town  site. 

Every  man  had  his  musket,  sword  and  corslet, 
and  the  little  party  crept  cautiously  along,  some 
times  skirting  the  shore  of  the  bay  in  an  open  boat, 
and  sometimes  pushing  their  way  into  the  main 
land  on  foot. 


94  THE    STORY   OF    THE    INDIANS 

Whenever  the  explorers  returned  they  had  much 
to  tell,  and  all  in  the  ship  gathered  eagerly  around 
them  to  learn  about  their  adventures. 

Once  they  said  they  had  seen  Indians,  a  group 
of  five  or  six  half- naked,  dusky  fellows,  who  ran 
away  as  fast  as  their  legs  would  carry  them.  '  An 
other  time  they  found  some  frozen  mounds  of  earth, 
dug  into  them  with  their  swords,  and  found  pits 
lined  with  bark,  in  which  were  the  baskets  of  corn 
they  brought  back.  None  of  the  Pilgrims  had 
ever  seen  the  maize  of  the  Indians,  and  the  good 
women  fell  straightway  to  wondering  how  it  might 
be  cooked. 

Then  Captain  Standish  told  how  they  had  dug 
into  another  mound,  expecting  to  find  more  corn, 
but  found  instead  the  bones  of  a  man  and  the  dried 
mummy  of  a  little  child  ;  and  the  skull  of  the  man 
was  covered  with  golden  hair. 

Now  they  knew  that  the  Indians  had  black  hair, 
and  wondered  what  this  lonely  grave  by  the  sea 
shore  meant.  Could  it  be  the  grave  of  one  of  the 
yellow-haired  Norsemen,  who  were  said  to  have 
dwelt  for  a  time  in  this  region  ?  The  little  Pil 
grims  were  more  curious  to  know  about  the  little 
child,  and  talked  about  it  over  and  over  again. 

A  long  time  afterwards  they  learned  of  the  mas 
sacre  of  the  Frenchmen,  how  five  of  them  had  been 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  95 

made  slaves,  and  how  one  had  proved  himself  so 
agreeable  to  his  chief,  that  he  was  kindly  treated, 
and  married  to  an  Indian  maiden.  Then  the  little 
Pilgrims  wondered  if  the  dead  child,  with  the  beads, 
and  little  bow,  and  arrow  and  playthings,  scattered 
all  around  him,  were  not  the  son  of  this  French 
man.  But  no  one  ever  really  knew  anything  about 
the  Indian  child  and  the  man  of  the  golden  locks, 
who  lay  asleep  together  in  one  grave. 

Once  when  the  explorers  returned  to  the  ship, 
they  told  how  William  Bradford  had  been  caught 
in  an  Indian  deer  trap,  and  there  was  great  merri 
ment  over  the  thought  of  this  scholarly  man  sus 
pended  in  mid-air  in  the  fork  of  a  sapling. 

Here  and  there,  from  an  ambush  in  the  forest, 
they  caught  sight  of  Indians,  and  upon  one  occa 
sion  were  met  with  a  shower  of  arrows  ;  but  no 
one  was  injured,  and  at  the  sound  of  the  guns  the 
Indians  fled. 

A  whole  month  was  spent  in  exploring  the  coast, 
and  the  winter  weather  was  so  severe  that  their 
clothes  were  sometimes  frozen  on  them  like  coats  of 
mail. 

But  they  built  their  camp-fires  under  the  boughs 
of  the  fir-trees,  and  wandered  many  miles  in  quest 
of  a  landing-place. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  December,   the  Pilgrim 


96  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

scouts  ran  their  shallop  into  the  harbor  which  Cap 
tain  Smith  had  called  Plymouth  on  his  map,  and 
were  so  well  pleased  with  the  spot,  they  decided  to 
make  it  their  home  ;  so  they  returned  to  the  ship 
with  the  joyful  news,  and  soon  the  ship  cast  anchor 
in  Plymouth  haven,  with  the  whole  company  on 
board.  They  stood  on  the  icy  deck  with  the  winds 
blowing  through  the  masts  overhead,  and  the  waves 
roaring  about  the  great  black  hull  beneath,  and 
sang  hymns  of  praise  for  deliverance  from  the 
dangers  of  the  sea.  Boatload  after  boatload  left 
the  ship.  There  was  joy  at  setting  foot  on  land 
once  more.  They  gathered  fuel  and  built  fires 
under  the  snow-laden  pines. 

The  women  washed  the  soiled  linen  at  a  spring, 
and  the  men  set  about  building  a  shelter.  They 
chose  a  hillside  sloping  down  to  Cape  Cod  Bay, 
and  put  up  a  log  house  large  enough  for  all.  Then 
they  divided  the  whole  company  into  nineteen  fam 
ilies,  and  laid  out  plots  of  land  where  each  family 
might  build  its  own  house. 

Meanwhile,  although  the  Pilgrims  did  not  know 
anything  about  it  until  many  years  after,  the  In 
dians  of  all  that  region  gathered  their  powwow 
priests  into  a  gloomy  swamp  not  far  from  Ply 
mouth,  and  for  three  days  and  three  nights,  used 
all  their  black  charms  and  cursed  the  white  men 


TliEKE    \VAS   JOY    AT    (SETTING    FOOT    ON    LAND    ONCE    MORE. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  97 

in  a  most  terrible  manner.  They  did  not  venture 
very  near  the  settlement,  but  were  often  seen  hov 
ering  about  the  forests.  The  Pilgrims  were  in 
such  fear  of  an  attack,  that  they  formed  a  military 
company,  with  Miles  Standish  as  captain,  and  built 
a  platform  of  logs  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and 
mounted  it  with  cannon. 

It  would  take  a  long  time  to  tell  of  the  hard 
ships  endured  by  the  settlers  of  New  England,  as 
they  tried  to  build  homes  in  the  snow.  They  had 
difficulty  to  get  stone,  mortar  and  thatch  ;  they 
lacked  boats  to  unload  their  goods  from  the  ship  ; 
disease  fell  upon  them,  and  the  sick  lay  in  the 
crowded  ship,  or  in  half-built  cabins  heaped  around 
with  snow-drifts,  so  that  sometimes  two  or  three 
died  in  one  day. 

But  the  living  did  not  falter.  They  carried  out 
the  dead  and  buried  them  in  a  bluff  by  the  river, 
and  smoothed  over  the  graves  that  the  Indians 
might  not  know  how  few  remained  alive. 

At  one  time  there  were  but  seven  well  ones  in  the 
whole  company,  and  when  the  long,  dreary  winter 
was  ended,  fifty-one  of  the  hundred  and  two  were 
dead. 


98  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

CHAPTER  XV. 

AN    EXCHANGE    OF    VISITS. 

WHEN  the  long-,  dreary  winter  was  over  and 
joyous  spring  had  come,  nature  seemed  to  whisper 
glad  tidings  to  the  sad-eyed  Pilgrims.  The  snow 
melted  away  into  babbling  brooks,  the  trees  put 
forth  green  leaves,  the  little  wild  flowers  dotted 
the  hillside  arid  peeped  from  among  the  mosses  of 
the  forest,  while  the  songs  of  many  strange  birds 
filled  the  air  with  music. 

The  Pilgrims  had  not  yet  seen  an  Indian  in  their 
village,  but  one  day  a  tall,  handsome  Indian  came 
boldly  into  camp  and  called  out,  "  Welcome,  Eng 
lishmen!  Welcome,  Englishmen!''  He  said  he 
was  Samoset,  and  had  learned  English  of  the  fish 
ermen  in  the  north. 

He  said  they  were  on  a  spot  where,  four  years 
before,  the  Massachusetts  Indians  had  dwelt ;  but 
this  tribe  had  all  been  swept  away  by  a  great 
plague,  except  about  a  hundred  warriors.  The 
Wampanoags,  whose  king  was  Massasoit,  were 
their  nearest  neighbors,  and  they,  too,  had  suffered 
from  the  plague,  so  that  of  more  than  three  thou 
sand  warriors  onlv  five  hundred  remained  alive. 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  99 

Samoset  seemed  very  intelligent,  and  the  Pil 
grims  soon  saw  that  he  would  be  of  service  in 
making  treaties  of  peace  with  the  tribes,  and  acting 
as  interpreter. 

When  he  took  his  leave,  they  presented  him 
with  a  knife,  a  bracelet  and  a  ring,  and  he  prom 
ised  to  come  back  again  and  bring  some  friends, 
who  would  trade  in  beaverskins. 

A  few  days  after  his  first  visit,  Samoset  returned 
with  several  Indians,  to  trade  some  skins  for 
trinkets  ;  but,  as  it  was  Sabbath,  the  Pilgrims 
would  not  buy  their  skins,  and  told  them  to  come 
some  other  time.  Very  soon  after,  Samoset  came 
again  in  company  with  Squanto,  who  was  one  of 
the  Indians  stolen  by  Captain  Hunt,  He  had  es 
caped  from  his  slavery  in  Spain,  and  returned  with 
some  English  fishermen  to  his  old  home  on  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  only  to  find  that  all  of  his  friends 
were  dead  with  the  plague.  In  vain  he  searched 
for  his  dear  ones  along  the  rivers  and  through  the 
hills  of  the  beautiful  country.  Skulls  and  bones 
lay  bleaching  in  the  sun  ;  here  and  there  were 
wigwams  falling  to  pieces  with  decay,  but  there 
was  no  trace  of  any  of  his  people,  and  at  last  the 
heart-broken  Indian  gave  up  his  vain  quest  and 
sought  a  place  among  the  warriors  of  Massasoit. 
He  now  came  with  Samoset  to  bring  word  that  the 


100  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

great  sachem,  Massasoit,  was  on  his  way  to  Ply 
mouth,  and  wished  an  interview  with  the  governor. 
And  sure-enough,  our  old  friend  Massasoit  soon 
appeared  on  a  neighboring  hilltop.  He  looked 
much  older  than  when  we  saw  him  last ;  but  his 
bearing  was  that  of  a  true  king  of  the  forest.  He 
was  painted  a  dark  red  and  wore  skins  and  a  neck 
lace  of  bear's  teeth  ;  and  a  long  knife  swung  on  his 
bosom  fastened  by  a  string.  His  companions  were 
all  painted,  some  red,  some  black,  some  white  and 
yellow  ;  some  wore  skins  and  some  were  without 
clothing. 

He  did  not  hasten  with  a  smile  of  welcome  as 
we  would  expect  him  to  do,  when  we  remember 
how  eagerly  he  once  watched  for  the  coming  of 
the  white  men. 

Squanto  had  told  him  that  these  white  men  were 
a  powerful  people,  who  dwelt  across  the  morning 
waters,  in  palaces  of  marble  ;  that  their  numbers 
were  as  the  sands  of  the  sea,  and  that  they  had  the 
plague  buried  under  their  storehouses,  and  could 
send  it  forth  upon  any  people  they  pleased. 

So  whether  he  and  his  warriors  might  be  kid 
napped,  or  striken  with  disease,  or  received  with 
the  kindness  of  brothers,  was  a  great  question  in 
the  mind  of  Massasoit,  as  he  came  over  the  brow  of 
Strawberry  Hill  with  sixty  of  his  followers.  He 


OP    NEW 

remained  standing  in  the  distance  until  Edward 
Wirislow  was  sent  out  with  Squanto  to  meet  him. 
Winslow  bore  presents  to  the  chief,  and  told  him 
that  King  James,  of  England,  saluted  him  as  a 
brother  with  peace  and  love. 

Now  Massasoit  was  pleased  with  the  gifts  and 
this  greeting  ;  but  he  was  very  cautious. 

He  said  that  Winslow  should  remain  as  a  host 
age  with  his  warriors,  while  he  and  a  few  trusted 
followers  were  at  the  audience  with  the  governor. 

They  were  conducted  across  the  brook,  which 
ran  between  the  hill  and  the  town,  by  Captain 
Standish  and  six  musketeers  in  full  armor,  to  the 
largest  building  in  Plymouth.  Here  rugs  and 
cushions  were  placed  upon  the  floor  on  which  to 
sit.  Governor  Carver  soon  entered,  with  drums 
beating  and  trumpets  blowing,  and  greeted  the 
sachem  with  great  ceremony. 

The  two  sat  together  on  a  rug.  Massasoit  trem 
bled  and  seemed  much  impressed  with  the  splen 
dor  of  his  reception. 

There  was  a  feast  and  a  smoke.  Then  the  first 
treaty  made  in  New  England  was  signed,  in  which 
pledges  of  peace  and  good  will  were  exchanged. 
All  offenders  should  be  given  up  to  be  punished. 
If  the  English  engaged  in  war,  the  Wampanoags 
would  aid  them  ;  if  the  Wampanoags  were  at- 


THE    STORY   OP    THE    INDIANS 

tacked,  the  English  would  help  them.  These  were 
the  terms  of  a  peace  which  lasted  for  fifty  years, 
and  Massasoit  returned  to  his  lodge  at  Sowams, 
well  pleased  with  his  visit. 

Squanto  taught  the  Pilgrims  how  to  plant  corn. 
Seven  houses  were  soon  finished,  besides  the  large 
town  house,  and  the  Pilgrims  began  to  feel  so  en 
couraged  that  when  the  Mayflower  returned  to 
England,  not  one  of  the  Colonists  went  back  with 
her.  They  had  adopted  New  England  as  their 
home. 

Scarcely  had  the  good  ship  departed,  bearing 
greetings  and  sad  messages  to  the  friends  in  Lon 
don,  when  Governor  Carver  died.  This  new  sor 
row  was  felt  deeply,  for  the  noble  man  had  been 
loved  by  all. 

Then  William  Bradford  was  chosen  governor. 
He  remembered  that  the  Indians  had  never  been 
paid  for  the  corn  which  the  Pilgrims  had  taken 
from  the  pits  when  exploring  the  coast.  So  he 
sent  Edward  Winslow  and  Squanto  to  Massasoit  to 
find  out  the  owners  of  the  corn,  that  they  might  be 
paid  ;  and  it  was  also  their  mission  to  tell  the  chief 
it  was  impossible  to  feed  so  many  Indians  as  now 
came  to  Plymouth  to  make  friendly  visits. 

When  the  messengers  arrived  at  the  lodge  of  the 
chief,  he  was  not  at  home,  but  his  wife  and  children 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  103 

were  there  and  received  them  kindly,  though  they 
glanced  with  fear  at  the  muskets  and  stood  very 
near  the  door  as  if  ready  to  flee  at  every  movement. 

When  Wirislow  saw  Massasoit  coming  in  the  dis 
tance,  he  fired  off  his  musket  in  salute,  and  then 
presented  him  with  a  coat  of  red  cotton  trimmed 
with  lace,  and  a  fine  copper  chain.  Massasoit  put 
on  the  coat  immediately,  hung  the  chain  about  his 
neck,  and  was  so  delighted  with  these  gifts  that  it 
was  a  long  time  before  business  could  be  trans 
acted. 

His  wife  gazed  on  him  in  admiration  as  he  strut 
ted  about  the  wigwam. 

Then  he  summoned  many  tributary  chiefs  to  meet 
Winslow,  and  told  them  they  must  remember  that 
he  was  Massasoit,  sachem  of  thirty  villages,  and  it 
was  his  wish  that  they  make  treaties  of  peace  and 
commerce  with  the  white  men  of  Plymouth. 

All  the  warriors  agreed  to  do  this.  Who  could 
resist  such  a  magnificent  sachem  in  scarlet  coat 
and  glittering  chain  ? 

Now  Winslow  stayed  three  days  and  nights  in 
the  lodge  of  Massasoit,  and  the  truth  must  be  told 
of  this  visit,  even  at  the  risk  of  casting  doubts 
on  the  good  housekeeping  of  the  hostess.  When 
it  was  time  to  sleep,  Winslow  was  invited  to  share 
the  bed  with  Massasoit  and  his  wife. 


104  THE    STORY   OP   THE   INDIANS 

The  bed  was  several  planks  raised  a  few  inches 
from  the  ground  and  covered  with  skins.  He  was 
put  at  the  foot  of  the  bed  and  two  warriors  lay 
down  beside  him,  and  what  with  the  snoring  and 
crowding  of  his  four  bed-fellows,  and  the  biting  of 
the  fleas  and  lice,  he  hardly  slept  a  wink. 

Food  was  also  scarce  just  at  this  time,  and  the 
chief  was  greatly  grieved  and  shamed  that  he  could 
not  better  entertain  his  white  brothers. 

But  great  good  came  of  this  visit  to  Massasoit. 
Friendship  was  cemented  with  several  new  tribes, 
and  a  trading-post  was  established  at  So  warns,  so 
that  there  was  soon  a  well-worn  path  between  a 
merchant  of  Mount  Hope  Neck  and  the  settlers  in 
Plymouth. 

Now  when  you  hear  the  word  merchant  you 
probably  think  of  great  warehouses  down  by  the 
busy  wharves,  where  vessels  are  coming  in  and  go 
ing  out  all  day  long,  and  of  long  salesrooms  lined 
with  shelves  of  goods,  with  messenger  boys  flying 
in  every  direction,  clerks  busy  and  smiling,  and 
bookkeepers  writing  in  huge  leather-bound  vol 
umes.  But  this  merchant  on  the  Taunton  river, 
with  whom  the  Pilgrims  traded,  had  a  very  differ 
ent  way  of  transacting  business. 

His  shipping  was  the  slender  canoe,  hid  down  on 
the  bank  among  the  bushes,  his  warehouse,  a  wig- 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  105 

warn  of  skins  on  the  hillside,  and  his  shelving,  bas 
kets  of  willow. 

He  had  a  large  assortment  to  sell,  and  was  kept 
busy  all  the  year  round. 

He  traded  his  stock  for  English  wares,  and  then 
sold  these  to  more  remote  Indians,  who  were  igno 
rant  of  their  worth.  Thus  he  often  made  double 
profit. 

In  winter  he  had  mats,  baskets,  brooms  and  wild 
turkeys,  the  skins  of  beavers,  otter,  mink,  bears, 
moose,  deer,  raccoons,  and  many  other  fur-bearing 
animals  which  filled  the  forests  of  New  England  at 
that  time. 

In  summer  this  merchant  had  all  kinds  of  fish  to 
sell,  and  strawberries,  whortleberries,  raspberries, 
blackberries,  sassafras  and  grapes. 

In  autumn  he  had  a  supply  of  cranberries,  veni 
son  and  tobacco. 

In  exchange  for  these  things  the  Pilgrims  gave 
nails,  chests,  fish-hooks,  water-pails,  hatchets,  glass 
bottles,  beads,  iron  pots,  woolen  blankets,  cider 
and  whiskey. 

But  they  soon  refused  to  traffic  in  whiskey.  The 
Indians  had  a  diseased  appetite  for  the  "  fire  wa 
ter,"  and  would  not  stop  drinking  until  they  were 
intoxicated.  If  there  were  not  enough  liquor  to 
make  all  in  a  company  drunk,  they  would  draw 


106  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

lots,  and'  some  drank  while  the  rest  sat  about 
watching  the  carousing  of  their  more  fortunate 
friends.  So  the  good  people  of  Plymouth  quit  sell 
ing  whiskey. 

They  would  not  sell  muskets,  either,  for  fear  of 
their  lives,  and  made  a  law  forbidding  the  sale  of 
any  firearms  to  the  Indians. 


OF   NEW    ENGLAND.  107 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THANKSGIVING. 

WHEN  autumn  came,  a  stout  fortress  crowned  the 
hill  at  Plymouth,  from  which  a  broad  street  led 
down  to  the  harbor. 

Seven  log  houses  had  been  built,  and  more  were 
going  up ;  but  some  stood  unfinished,  because 
death  had  stayed  the  hands  of  the  builders. 

The  Pilgrims  were  sore  at  heart  for  the  loss  of 
over  half  of  their  colony  ;  but  they  would  not  mur 
mur.  They  said  it  was  the  will  of  heaven,  and 
they  would  submit. 

They  were  so  grateful  for  an  abundant  harvest, 
which  promised  food  for  those  who  were  living, 
that  they  resolved  to  offer  thanks  to  God. 

So,  when  the  corn  was  gathered,  and  the  fuel 
laid  in  for  the  winter,  Governor  Bradford  ap 
pointed  a  day  of  thanksgiving. 

Four  men  killed  fowl  enough  to  last  a  week. 

£3 

There  was  a  great  store  of  wild  turkeys,  and  from 
that  day  to  this,  the  turkey  has  been  an  honored, 
though  silent,  guest  of  every  New  England  thanks 
giving. 


108  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Then  the  governor  invited  King  Massasoit  to 
join  in  this  first  thanksgiving  dinner.  The  great 
chief  came  in  his  red  coat  and  best  paint,  oiled  to 
a  turn,  and  with  him  came  seventy  warriors  in  feath 
ers  and  fine  skins,  decorated  with  quills  and  wam 
pum.  They  brought  five  deer  from  the  forest  to 
add  to  the  feast,  and  roasted  them  on  spits  over 
the  fire  built  out  in  the  open.  ^  There  was  little 
ceremony  needed  in  serving  a  dinner  to  Indians, 
who  were  accustomed  to  eat  with  their  fingers,  and 
drink  from  dried  gourds  ;  but  for  all  that,  the 
women  were  kept  very  busy  preparing  food  for  a 
hundred  and  twenty  people.  There  were  only 
four  of  these  noble  women  left  who  had  sailed  in 
the  Mayflower,  and  they  were  pale  and  thin  with 
long  months  of  nursing  the  sick,  and  their  faces 
were  lined  with  care. 

Yet  all  the  Pilgrims  tried  to  remember  that  it 
was  a  day  of  thanksgiving,  and  there  were  feats 
with  firearms  and  bows  and  arrows,  and  there  were 
quoits  and  many  other  games  in  which  the  Indians 
joined.  Taking  it  altogether,  the  first  thanksgiv 
ing  day  in  New  England  was  a  great  success. 

Soon  after  this,  the  ship  Fortune  sailed  into  port 
with  thirty  Pilgrims  from  Leyden.  There  was 
mingled  joy  and  sorrow  in  the  reunion.  Some  of 
the  bravest  and  best  of  the  Plymouth  friends  were 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  109 

gone,  and  tears  would  come  as  the  sad  story  was 
told. 

Then  when  the  Fortune  set  sail  to  return  home, 
her  seamen  had  to  be  supplied  with  food,  and  that 
reduced  the  supplies  still  more.  So  the  corn  just 
gathered  had  to  be  carefully  distributed,  or  it 
would  not  hold  out  till  the  next  harvest.  It  had 
taken  the  scant  store  in  Ley  den  to  pay  for  the 
voyage  across  the  sea,  and  the  newcomers  had  no 
provisions  with  them. 

Now,  patient  in  tribulation  and  reverent  in  wor 
ship,  as  these  Pilgrims  were,  there  were  some 
among  them  who  were  not  Christians,  and  these 
caused  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

Even  while  the  Mayflower  still  lay  at  anchor  in 
Cape  Cod  Bay,  a  wilful  boy  got  at  the  gunpowder, 
made  squibs  and  shot  off  fowling-pieces  between 
decks  where  there  was  a  half  barrel  of  powder, 
and  kept  the  timid  women  and  children  in  constant 
terror  by  his  lawless  conduct. 

Then  a  few  of  those  who  came  over  in  the  For 
tune  were  not  in  harmony  with  the  little  commu 
nity. 

The  Pilgrims  did  not  believe  in  celebrating 
Christmas  as  a  holiday,  and  when  Christmas  day 
came  Governor  Bradford  marshaled  his  men  into 
line,  as  was  his  custom,  to  go  to  the  forest  to  fell 


110  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

down  trees.  Some  from  the  Fortune  said  that  it 
was  against  their  consciences  to  work  on  Christmas, 
and  refused  to  go  with  the  rest.  But  when  the 
tired  men  returned  from  their  labor  for  dinner, 
these  over-scrupulous  fellows  were  pitching  bars 
and  playing  at  other  games  in  great  glee. 

The  governor  told  them  it  was  against  his  con 
science  that  some  should  play  while  others  toiled 
to  supply  them  comforts  ;  and  ordered  them  to 
quit  their  games,  and,  either  sit  in  the  house  at  wor 
ship,  or  go  out  in  the  field  to  work. 

But,  after  all  is  said,  these  troublesome  members 
were  easily  managed,  for  -the  Pilgrims  made  their 
own  laws,  and  the  doughty  Captain  Miles  Standish 
enforced  them  with  his  musketeers.  The  "  black 
sheep :7  preferred  to  remain  in  the  fold  at  Ply 
mouth,  rather  than  risk  their  lives  in  the  howling 
wilderness. 

There  were  constant  rumors  of  plotting  among 
the  Narragansetts,  and  all  were  united  in  common 
defense  from  the  threatened  attack. 

Canonic  us,  the  chief  of  the  Narragansetts,  had 
seemed  friendly  to  the  Pilgrims  at  first ;  but  when 
he  saw  the  alliance  between  them  and  his  old 
enemies,'  the  Wampanoags,  he  fell  into  a  great 
rage. 

The  plague  had  left  his  own  tribe  untouched, 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  Ill 

while  it  had  reduced  the  warriors  of  his  rival  to  a 
handful. 

Had  he  not  been  sharpening  his  tomahawk  for 
two  years  to  exterminate  the  few  who  were  left  ? 
Had  not  the  pow^wows  been  certain  of  victory  ? 
And  now  these  white  men  had  come  with  their 
fire-belching;  muskets  to  strengthen  the  feeble  arm 

o  o 

of  Massasoit.  What  was  to  be  done?  "It  was 
easy  enough,"  said  Canonicus.  He  would  march 
his  thousands  against  the  white  men.  He  would 
wipe  the  handful  of  Palefaces  off  the  face  of  the 
earth.  Their  hair  was  short  ;  but  corslets  and  hel 
mets  and  firearms  would  more  than  make  up  for 
bad  scalps. 

So  one  day,  as  Governor  Bradford  was  busy 
with  his  papers,  the  door  of  his  room  swung  noise 
lessly  open,  and  an  Indian  messenger  laid  upon  the 
table  a  bundle  of  arrows  tied  with  a  snake  skin. 

Squanto  said  that  this  was  a  declaration  of  war, 
and  that  the  Narragansetts  could  muster  about  five 
thousand  warriors. 

Now  the  best  that  could  be  done  at  Plymouth 
was  to  arm  fifty  men  ;  but  it  would  never  do  to 
show  fear,  and  so  the  governor  filled  the  snake 
skin  with  powder  and  bullets  and  sent  it  back. 
This  frightened  the  Narragansetts.  They  thought 
the  spirit  of  the  thunderbolts,  which  rent  the 


112  THE    STORY    OF   THE   INDIANS 

mighty  oaks  of  the  forest,  dwelt  in  the  strange 
mixture  that  went  into  a  gun  ;  and  they  handled 
the  snake  skin,  gorged  to  the  fangs  with  the  deadly 
stuff,  as  a  dynamite  bomb  would  be  handled  to-day. 

It  passed  from  chief  to  chief,  arid,  at  last,  came 
back  to  Plymouth  with  a  pledge  of  peace. 

The  Pilgrims  now  prepared  for  future  attacks 
from  the  Indians,  and  built  a  stronger  log  fort  on 
the  brow  of  the  nearest  hill,  which  also  served  for 
a  meeting-house  ;  and  they  enclosed  the  whole 
settlement  with  a  high  fence  or  stockade,  and  shut 
the  gates  every  evening  at  sunset. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  113 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    MEDICINE    MEN. 

IN  1622  two  ships  sailed  into  Plymouth  harbor 
with  about  sixty  men  from  London,  who  had  come 
to  America  to  engage  in  the  fur  trade. 

They  had  little  food  of  their  own,  and  stayed  at 
Plymouth  for  the  most  of  the  summer,  enjoying 
the  hospitality  of  the  Pilgrims  ;  but  they  were  not 
welcome  guests,  for  they  were  lawless  men,  and 
thought  that  money-making  was  the  chief  aim  of 
life.     Late  in  the  autumn,  they  chose  Weyrnouth, 
near  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream  emptying  into 
Boston  Bay,  as  a  fishing  station.     They  were  un 
grateful  for  the  favors   they    had  received,   and 
made   much   sport   of  the   Pilgrims.     They  said 
these  pious  Plymouth  saints  spent  too  much  time 
on  their  knees,  and  declared  that  the  fish  trade 
was  the  foundation  of  wealth.     But,  as  we  shall 
see,  they  soon  found  that  fish  alone  made  a  very 
slippery  foundation  for  them  to  build  upon.     In 
the  spring  of  1623,  news  came  to  Plymouth  that 
Massasoit  was  ill,  and  Edward  Wmslow  and  an  in 
terpreter  were  sent  with  medicines  to  visit  him. 


114  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

On  the  way  they  heard  that  the  great  chief  was 
dead,  whereupon  the  interpreter  broke  out  with 
loud  lamentations.  "  Neen  womasu  sagamus  ! 
Neen  womasu  sagamus  \  "  he  wailed,  "  Many  have 
I  known,  but  none  like  thee  !  He  was  not  a  liar  ; 
he  was  not  bloody  and  cruel  like  other  Indians. 
He  was  a  wise  sachem,  but  never  ashamed  to  ask 

advice.     He  was  easy  to  be  reconciled  toward  such 

«/ 

as  had  offended  him.  He  governed  his  men  better 
with  few  strokes  than  others  did  with  many.  Neen 
womasu  sagamus  \  " 

Thus  the  old  man  mourned,  and  the  rude  March 
winds  kept  time  with  his  cries.  But  farther  on, 
they  met  some  Indians,  who  said  that  the  powwows 
were  working  great  charms  over  Massasoit,  and 
that  he  was  still  alive. 

As  they  hurried  on  through  the  leafless  forests, 
Winslow  asked  his  guide  who  the  powwows  were. 

11  They  are  great  medicine  men,7'  answered  the 
guide.  "  They  are  wise  men  who  know  how  to 
outwit  the  evil  spirit  who  sends  disease.  When 
they  are  called  in  to  see  a  sick  man,  they  first  place 
him  in  a  room  built  of  stones,  and  heated  by  fires 
lighted  around  the  outside  of  it.  Then  they  put 
red-hot  stones  in  the  room  and  sprinkle  water  over 
them  with  cedar  branches  until  a  vapor  rises. 
When  the  patient  is  in  a  sweat,  they  carry  him  out 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  115 

to  a  running  stream,  and  plunge  him  into  the  cold 
water. 

"Now,  if  this  fails  to  restore  the  sick  man/' 
continued  the  guide,  "  there  are  other  remedies 
which  these  medicine  men  use.  There  are  the 
juices  of  berries  and  leaves,  the  bark  and  roots  of 
trees,  the  skins  of  snakes  and  the  warts  of  frogs, 
dried  and  pounded  into  powder,  and  there  are  va 
rious  other  cures,  which  the  common  people  know 
nothing  about. 

"  Sometimes  the  powwow  seeks  out  a  Mariitou 
in  the  woods,  and  when  he  returns  he  says  there 
must  be  a  great  feast  before  the  sick  man  can  get 
well  ;  and  so  game  is  brought  by  all  the  friends, 
and  there  is  feasting  and  dancing  and  shouting 
until  devoted  relatives  become  so  wild  with  excite 
ment,  that  they  often  spring,  naked,  into  snow 
drifts,  and  dance  about  for  hours  in  the  coldest 
weather,  without  the  least  injury  to  themselves. 
All  this  generally  makes  the  patient  well. 

11  Then,  too,  after  many  prayers,  the  powwow 
sometimes  announces  that  gifts  from  friends  will 
cure  the  sick  man  ;  and  so  all  his  friends,  from  far 
and  near,  bring  presents  of  skins  and  wampums, 
fish-hooks,  moccasins,  pouches,  and  everything 
they  think  he  would  like  if  he  were  well  again, 
and  he  often  gets  well  after  that.7' 


110  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

'I  should  really  think/7  said  Winslow,  laugh 
ing,  "that  it  would  be  a  great  temptation  to  get 
sick  for  the  sake  of  such  treatment  as  that!'' 

"Ah,"  said  the  guide,  "you  think  someone 
might  just  pretend  to  be  sick.  That  would  not  be 
possible,  for  the  powwow  would  see  through  his 
deception." 

"  Doesn't  the  powwow  receive  some  of  the  pres 
ents?" 

"Oh,  yes  ;  he  is  given  half  when  the  sick  are 
restored  to  health." 

"Do  you  not  think  a  wicked  powwow  might 
persuade  some  man  to  become  suddenly  sick  in 
order  to  share  the  profits  of  the  gift  cure?"  asked 
Winslow. 

"  Ah,  no  ;  "  said  the  guide,  "  he  would  then  lose 
his  power  over  the  evil  spirit,  and  could  never 
work  cures  again." 

"If  one  medicine  man  fails  to  restore  health,  do 
the  friends  change  to  another  doctor?" 

"Ah,  no,  they  never  do  that.  If  a  man  dies, 
the  powwow  is  held  in  still  greater  esteem  than  if 
he  had  recovered,  for  he  must  have  been  very 
brave  to  attack  an  evil  spirit  that  was  so  powerful 
as  to  kill  the  sick,  in  spite  of  everything  that  had 
been  done  to  prevent  it." 

They  had  now  reached  the  wigwam  of  Massasoit, 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  ill 

and  as  they  entered,  they  found  the  room  packed 
close  with  mourning  friends,  many  of  whom  were 
already  painted  black,  as  a  sign  that  death  was 
near.  Tears  ran  like  rain  down  their  cheeks,  and, 
mingling  with  the  soot,  made  them  look  the  pic 
ture  of  woe. 

Several  powwows  were  yelling  their  incanta 
tions,  rattling  tortoise-shells  in  his  ears  to  drive 
away  the  evil  spirit,  and  crowding  about  him  so 
closely  that  he  must  soon  have  died  in  sheer  self- 
defense.  There  he  lay,  cold,  wasted  and  speech 
less,  on  his  couch  of  skins. 

When  Winslow  took  his  hand  and  spoke,  he 
opened  his  eyes  feebly,  and  whispered  through 
shrunken  lips,  "  Oh,  Winslow,  I  shall  never  see 
you  again." 

Winslow  gave  him  some  simple  remedies,  made 
broth  to  give  him  strength,  and  in  a  few  days  re 
stored  him  to  health. 

Massasoit  was  so  pleased  with  the  tender  care  of 
his  white  friends  that  he  revealed  a  deep-laid  plot 
among  the  Massachusetts  Indians  to  destroy  first 
the  little  settlement  at  Weymouth,  arid  then  fall 
upon  Plymouth. 

He  said  the  tribes  feared  the  little  man  Standish 
more  than  all  the  others  put  together,  and  once, 
while  he  was  out  hunting,  had  planned  to  kill  him. 


118 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 


So  an  Indian  slept  on  the  ground  near  Standish, 
intending  to  strike  him  dead  as  soon  as  he  slept  ; 
but  the  night  happened  to  be  very  cold,  the  little 
captain  could  not  sleep,  and  kept  turning  before 
the  fire  so  that  there  had  been  no  chance  to  take 
him  unawares.  All  the  Indians  were  afraid  of  a 
hand-to-hand  fight  with  him,  for  they  thought  he 
was  in  league  with  the  evil  spirit. 

Massasoit  said  that  he  himself  had  been  asked 
to  join  in  the  league  for  the  destruction  of  the 
white  men  ;  but  he  had  refused  to  do  so,  and  was 
now  glad,  for  he  knew  that  the  white  men  had 
saved  his  life. 

When  Winslow  heard  that  the  attack  on  Wey- 
mouth  was  to  be  very  soon,  he  hastened  with  all 
speed  to  Plymouth,  to  spread  the  alarm. 


OP   NEW   ENGLAND.  119 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

WEYMOUTH. 

THE  colony  at  Weymouth  had  caused  the  plot 
ting  among  the  Massachusetts,  which  Massasoit 
revealed  to  Winslow. 

The  Indians  had  welcomed  the  Weymouth  men 
to  Boston  Bay  because  they  loved  and  respected 
the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  and  were  glad  to  have 
a  trading  station  near  them. 

At  first,  the  fishermen  paid  double  prices  for 
corn,  fish  and  furs,  and  everything  went  swim 
mingly,  on  the  shores  of  the  beautiful  bay. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  they  began  to  show 
what  rascals  they  were. 

They  wasted  their  own  provisions,  and  then 
hunted  out  the  hiding-places  of  the  corn  belong 
ing  to  the  Indians. 

They  hid  themselves  about  the  camps,  and,  when 
the  squaws  were  not  looking,  filched  the  succotash 
as  it  cooked  in  the  pots,  cut  down  the  dried  veni 
son,  and  robbed  the  wigwams  of  strings  of  pump 
kin  and  squash. 

When  winter  came  on,  they  found  themselves 
without  food,  and  in  the  midst  of  bitter  enemies. 


120  TtlE    STORY   OP   THE   INDIANS. 

The  shell-fish,  in  the  clustering  islands  of  the  bay, 
were  covered  with  broken  blocks  of  ice  ;  the  acorns, 
on  the  "  blue  hills  "  to  the  west,  were  hidden  under 
the  snow  ;  there  was  no  game  abroad  ;  and  so 
these  wretched  fishermen  sat  about  the  fire,  in  their 
cold  cabins,  through  many  dreary  weeks.  Some 
starved  to  death,  others  froze  to  death,  and  the 
few,  that  survived  till  spring,  scattered  about  the 
forest,  Drubbing  through  the  snow  for  ground- 

'      O  O  O  o 

nuts  ;  one,  in  trying  to  gather  shell-fish,  was  so 
weak  from  hunger,  that  when  he  was  stuck  in  the 
mud,  he  could  not  pull  himself  out,  and  the  tide 
washed  him  into  the  sea. 

In  the  end,  they  became  servants  to  the  Indians, 
and  cut  wood  or  fetched  water  for  a  cup  of  corn. 

And  so  the  Indians  scorned  them,  and  called 
them  "  Paleface  squaws,7'  and  began  to  plot  to  kill 
them,  and  then  march  against  Plymouth,  which 
was  twenty-five  miles  to  the  south. 

One  of  the  traders  overheard  their  talk,  and, 
without  saying  a  word  to  his  companions,  for  fear 
they  might  betray  him,  made  up  his  mind  to  seek 
aid  from  the  people  of  Plymouth, 

He  was  weak  from  want  of  food,  he  did  not  know 
the  way  through  the  wilderness,  and  he  very  well 
knew  he  would  lose  his  life,  if  he  were  seen  going 
toward  Plymouth,  for  every  path  was  guarded  to 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  121 

prevent  communication  between  the  two  colonies. 
But  desperation  lent  the  poor  man  courage,  and 
very  early  in  the  morning*  he  took  his  hoe  and  went 
digging  about  in  the  snow,  as  if  in  search  of  nuts, 
until  he  reached  the  Indian  wigwams.  No  Indians 
were  about  ;  they  were  still  fast  asleep. 

Then  he  ran  with  all  his  might,  going  through 
the  brambles  and  around  the  snow  which  lay  in 
the  hollows,  that  his  footprints  might  not  be  seen. 

The  sky  was  clouded,  and  during  the  day  he 
could  not  see  by  the  sun  in  what  direction  he  was 
going  ;  but  at  night  he  was  guided  by  the  north 
star  and  staggered  on,  with  the  wolves  howling 
about  him. 

At  last,  on  the  third  day,  the  gates  of  Plymouth 
came  in  sight. 

Meanwhile,  Edward  Winslow  had  returned  from 
his  visit  to  Massasoit,  and  told  of  the  plots  against 
Wey  mouth. 

The  Pilgrims  were  in  great  distress  when  they 
learned  of  the  plots  of  the  Massachusetts,  with  whom 
they  had  hoped  to  keep  peace. 

They  knew  that  the  fishermen,  at  Weymouth, 
were  to  blame  for  the  trouble  ;  but  it  was  now  too 
late  to  talk  about  that.  They  must  find  some  way 
to  defend  themselves.  There  they  were,  a  few 
feeble  men,  women  and  children,  shut  in  between 


122  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

the  cruel  sea  and  the  still  more  cruel  forest.  There 
seemed  little  escape  from  the  tomahawk  of  the 
savages,  if  they  wished  to  strike  the  blow. 

Then,  too,  a  ship  had,  not  long  before,  brought 
the  news  of  a  massacre  of  white  men  in  James 
town,  Yirgiriia,  in  which  more  had  perished  than 
were  now  alive  in  Plymouth. 

It  seemed  their  duty  to  fight  for  their  lives  as 
best  they  could. 

So  they  gathered  in  the  meeting-house  on  the 
hill,  and  had  just  agreed  to  make  a  sudden  attack 
and  seize  the  leaders  of  the  hostile  tribe,  when  the 
foot-sore  messenger,  from  Weymouth,  fell,  fainting, 
at  the  gate  of  the  town. 

He  told  his  story,  and  they  decided  to  act  at 
once.  Miles  Stand ish  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  expedition,  and  set  off  in  a  shallop,  with  eight 
of  his  men  and  the  same  guide  who  had  been  with 
Winslow  at  the  bedside  of  Massasoit. 

They  bore  themselves  as  traders,  in  search  of 
furs.  Through  the  ice  and  surf,  in  the  dreary 
weather,  they  reached  Boston  Harbor. 

There  lay  the  ship  Swan  at  anchor,  with  no 
fishermen  to  be  seen.  They  searched  through  the 
blockhouse  and  the  miserable  little  cabins  of  the 
settlement,  but  no  one  was  stirring. 

They  were  greatly  frightened,  for  they  thought 


THE   FOOTSORE    MESSENGER    FROM   WEYMOUTH   FELL    FAINTING 
AT   THE    GATE   OF   THE    TOWN. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  123 

they  had  come  too  late.  They  fired  off  their  mus 
kets  in  the  direction  of  the  forest,  and  soon  some 
stragglers  came  in  sight,  who  had  been  out  in  a 
vain  quest  for  food. 

Standish  gave  them  corn,  and  when  he  told  them 
of  their  danger,  they  were  thoroughly  alarmed,  and 
promised  to  obey  all  his  orders. 

Now,  the  Indians  thought  the  white  men  had 
only  come  to  trade  in  furs,  and  they  had  grown  so 
accustomed  to  jibe  and  jeer  at  the  "  squaw  whites  " 
that  they  continued  to  do  so.  The  chief,  Pecsuot, 
who  was  a  giant  fellow,  danced  around  Standish, 
boasting  how  he  could  make  mince-meat  of  him, 
if  he  wished.  The  chief,  Wetuwamet,  sharpened 
his  knife  in  his  presence,  felt  its  sharp  point,  and 
told  of  what  wonderful  things  it  could  do  at  the 
throat  of  the  white  man. 

But  the  wise  Standish  bore  all  these  taunts  with 
out  a  sign  of  displeasure  or  suspicion.  He  acted 
quite  as  if  he  thought  the  Indians  had  come  to  trade 
in  furs. 

Finally,  Wetuwamet  and  Pecsuot,  with  some  at 
tendants,  walked  into  the  room  where  Standish 
and  his  men  were. 

The  time,  agreed  upon,  had  come.  The  door  was 
shut.  The  little  captain  seized  the  giant  Pecsuot ; 
and  each  of  the  others  grappled  with  an  Indian. 


124 


THE    STORY   OF    THE    INDIANS 


Not  a  war-whoop  was  sounded  by  the  amazed  In 
dians.  Each  determined  to  fight  it  out.  The 
struggle  was  terrible ;  the  clash  of  weapons,  the 
hoarse  breathing  of  the  wrestlers,  and  the  groans 
of  the  dying,  were  all  that  was  heard  in  the  room. 

In  the  end,  every  Indian  was  killed  but  one,  and 
he  was  taken  prisoner. 

Then  Standish  hastened  to  the  village  wigwams 
for  the  rest  ;  but  the  alarm  had  been  given,  and 
only  women  and  children  were  there. 

^The  Indian  boys  were  frightened  out  of  their 
wits  at  the  approach  of  the  party,  and  seeing  that 
the  women  were  always  spared,  they  ran  about 
screaming  Neesquaes !  neesquaesl"  "I  am  a 
woman !  I  am  a  woman  !  " 

The  soldiers  now  started  in  pursuit  of  the  war 
riors.  They  had  many  skirmishes,  in  which  sev 
eral  Indians  were  killed,  and  they  drove  the  fuo-i- 
tives  from  swamp  to  swamp,  until  they  had  fled 
out  of  the  country. 

Then  the  little  band  of  eight  men  returned  home 
without  the  loss  of  one,  bearing  the  ghastly  head 
of  YVetuwamet,  which  they  hung  on  the  battle 
ments  of  the  fort,  as  a  warning  to  his  tribe. 

This  seems  hardly  what  we  would  expect  from 
Christians,  yet  we  must  remember  that,  three  hun 
dred  years  ago,  it  was  the  custom  to  cut  off  the 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  125 

heads  of  enemies  and  expose  them  to  public  view. 
But  for  all  that,  this  cruel  act  seems  unworthy  of 
the  Pilgrims,  who,  we  are  accustomed  to  think, 
were  better  than  others  of  their  time.  Their  be 
loved  pastor,  Robinson,  when  the  news  had  crossed 
the  sea  to  Leyden,  wrote:  "  How  happy  a  thing- 
had  it  been,  if  you  had  converted  some  before  you 
had  killed  any  !  " 

The  Pilgrims  agreed  that  if  they  did  not  kill  a 
few,  they  would  have  to  kill  many  ;  for  other  tribes 
would  soon  join  the  Massachusetts,  and  it  was 
thought  even  possible  that  Massasoit  might  break 
his  pledges  ;  though  if  they  had  known  this  great 
chief  from  his  childhood,  as  we  do,  they  would 
never  have  doubted  him  for  a  moment. 

The  Massachusetts  tribes  never  recovered  from 
their  defeat.  Between  the  plague  and  the  Pil 
grims,  they  were  reduced  to  a  mere  handful  of 
warriors,  who  flitted  through  the  forests  like  the 
ghosts  of  their  former  proud  race. 

At  last,  because  they  were  afraid  to  come  them 
selves,  they  sent  a  squaw  to  Plymouth  with  offer 
ings  of  peace,  and  soon  after  a  treaty  was  signed 
which  was  kept  for  many  years. 

As  for  the  colony  at  Wey mouth,  some  went 
south  to  Plymouth  with  Standish,  others  packed 
what  little  thev  had  and  sailed  in  the  Swan  to  the 


126         THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

fishing   stations   along    the    bays   on  the  coast  of 
Maine. 

And  this  was  the  end  of  the  first  colony  of 
Weymouth. 

Hardly  had  the  Pilgrims  come  to  see  how 
sweet  peace  was  again,  when  a  new  danger  beset 
them. 

The  summer  sun  poured  down  its  hot  rays  for  six 
long  weeks  without  a  drop  of  moisture.  The  earth 
turned  to  dust,  the  brooks  ran  dry,  the  leaves  on 
the  trees  curled  and  withered,  and  the  corn  that  had 
come  up,  wilted  and  turned  yellow. 

The  people  were  in  great  distress  ;  but  they  still 
had  faith  that  God  would  not  desert  them.  They 
gathered  into  the  meeting-house  and  prayed  ear 
nestly  for  rain.  A  few  Indians  who  chanced  to 
be  present,  heard  what  they  were  praying  for,  and 
rose  from  their  seats  to  stand  in  the  door  and 
watch  the  effect  of  the  prayers  on  the  sky.  Black 
clouds  began  to  appear  overhead,  and  soon  the 
rain  poured  down  in  torrents. 

The  drooping  blades  of  corn  revived.  The  trees 
put  forth  new  leaf,  and  all  nature  joined  the  pa 
tient  Pilgrims  in  a  song  of  praise. 

The  news  of  these  Christian  prayers  spread 
among  the  Indians  along  the  coast,  and  did  much 
to  restore  the  good  name  which  the  white  men 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  127 

had  lost  through  the  bad  behavior  of  the  traders 
at  Wey  mouth. 

But  while  the  young  corn  was  flourishing  in  the 
fields,  the  supply  of  old  corn  became  smaller  and 
smaller  day  by  day,  until  it  was  reduced  to  a 
pint,  and  the  governor  distributed  five  grains  to 
each  person.  This  was  all  the  Pilgrims  had  to  eat, 
except  shell-fish  and  wild  game. 

The  children  were  pale  and  crying  for  food,  when 
fishermen  from  Maine  put  in  at  the  harbor,  and 
sold  provisions  enough  to  last  till  the  bountiful 
harvest. 


128  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

MERRYMOUNT. 

WHILE  the  Pilgrims  in  Plymouth  were  strug 
gling  for  bread,  Captain  John  Smith's  pamphlet 
about  this  wonderful  Land  of  the  Bays,  was  excit 
ing  more  and  more  interest.  "Of  all  the  four 
parts  of  the  world  that  I  have  seen/7  wrote  Smith, 
lil  would  rather  live  here  than  anywhere  else." 
He  told  the  people  of  England  about  the  shoals  of 
cod  in  this  region ;  and  in  1622  as  many  as  thirty- 
five  ships  came  to  New  England  to  fish.  The 
Plymouth  merchants,  who  claimed  all  the  country, 
appealed  to  King  James  to  forbid  fishing  without 
the  permission  of  their  company.  But  the  busy 
fishermen  said  that  the  sea  was  free,  and  one  might 
as  well  try  to  keep  them  from  breathing  air  or 
drinking  water,  as  from  taking  draughts  of  fish  in 
the  boundless  waters  of  the  New  England  bays. 

So  they  kept  on  coming,  and  their  vessels  sailed 
back  into  every  port  of  Europe,  laden  with  the  fish 
they  had  caught  and  dried  on  the  coast. 

The  fishing  stations  of  Portsmouth  and  Dover 
were  built  on  the  strawberry  bank  of  the  Piscata- 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  129 

qua  in  New  Hampshire,  and  clusters  of  rude  houses 
thatched  with  bark,  were  scattered  along  the  coast 
of  Maine. 

Farther  south,  at  Cape  Ann  and  along  the  wind 
ing  curves  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  fishing  posts 
stood,  like  lighthouses,  where  a  busy  trade  was 
carried  on. 

Besides  these  fishermen  and  common  trades 
people,  many  of  the  gentry  of  England  came  to 
the  New  World  in  search  of  adventure. 

"  What  a  field  for  the  angler,"  they  cried, "  where 
a  dozen  different  varieties  of  fish  would  bite  the 
hook  in  one  lazy  summer  afternoon. 

"What  a  change  from  the  falcon  and  hounds,  to 
plunge  into  the  gloomy  forests,  where  strange 
beasts  lie  in  ambush  for  the  juicy  white  meat  of  an 
Englishman !  " 

And  so  the  wilds  of  America  became  as  fascin 
ating  to  the  sportsmen  of  Europe,  as  the  jungles  of 
India  are  to-day. 

In  1625  Thomas  Morton,  a  young  lawyer  of  fine 
family,  and  some  boon  companions,  crossed  the 
sea  to  get  all  the  enjoyment  they  could  out  of  the 
New  World,  and  at  the  same  time  make  their  for 
tunes  in  the  fur  trade.  They  built  cabins  at  Mount 
Wallaston,  at  the  mouth  of  a  winding  stream, 
which  emptied  into  Boston  Bay.  It  was  an  ideal 


130  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

spot.  Out  in  the  bay  lay  beautiful  islands  abound 
ing  in  shell-fish,  and  beyond  the  beach  wide 
stretches  of  meadow  sloped  up  to  hill  and  forest, 
bringing  game  within  easy  flight  of  an  arrow. 

To  the  south,  in  plain  view  from  the  hill,  stood 
the  lonely  blockhouse  of  Weymouth. 

But  these  young  fellows  learned  no  lessons  from 
the  ruins  of  Weymouth,  and  proceeded  to  live  in  a 
very  reckless  fashion,  indeed. 

They  laughed  gayly  at  the  "brethren"  of 
Plymouth,  and  declared  that  life  was  too  short  to 
spend  so  much  time  in  praying  and  keeping  the 
ten  commandments. 

They  called  their  settlement  "  Merrymount," 
and  cut  down  a  giant  pine-tree,  eighty  feet  high, 
for  a  May-pole. 

Such  a  high  pole  had  never  been  seen  in  old 
England,  and  to  show  the  giant  of  the  forest  due 
respect,  they  brought  it  into  camp  with  great  cer 
emony,  firing  off  the  guns  and  pistols,  blowing 
the  horns  and  shouting  like  madmen.  When  the 
revelers  had  set  the  pole  up,  they  wound  it  with 
garlands  of  sweet,  wild  flowers,  and  pasted  on 
rhymes  about  May-day  arid  Flora,  the  Queen  of 
the  May. 

They  drank  ale  and  rum  until  their  heads  were 
light,  and  then  called  in  the  neighboring  Indians 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  131 

to  help  them  drink  more.  They  drew  the  "  lasses 
in  beaver  coats  "  into  a  dance,  and  the  whole  com 
pany  whirled  about  the  May-pole  in  great  glee. 
When  the  Pilgrims  heard  of  these  merry  makings, 
they  were  greatly  grieved.  They  thought  dancing 
was  wicked,  and  celebrating  May-day  was  a  hea 
thenish  custom. 

But  they  soon  had  reason  to  fear  that  worse 
things  than  these  might  happen.  Merry  mount  be 
came  the  meeting-place  of  wild  fishermen  and  reck 
less  rabble  along  the  whole  New  England  coast. 

Morton  and  his  friends  were  anxious  to  make 
their  fortunes  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  sold  the 
Indians  all  the  rum  they  wanted. 

So  the  post  became  the  great  centre  of  trade. 
The  bay  was  full  of  canoes  laden  with  the  furs  of 
the  otter,  the  martens,  the  black  wolf  and  other 
rare  animals. 

Cargoes  of  beaverskins  were  bought  for  almost 
nothing,  and  sold  in  London  at  ten  shillings  a 
pound. 

But  rum  was  not  making  money  fast  enough,  and 
so  they  began  to  teach  the  Indians  how  to  charge 
muskets  and  fire  them.  So  eager  were  the  red  men 
to  possess  the  thunder,  that  they  paid  twenty 
times  what  the  firearms  were  worth. 

And  soon  the  Plymouth  people  met  them  rang- 


132  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

ing  through  the  woods,  shooting  at  every  object 
they  met. 

When  Governor  Bradford  remonstrated  with 
Morton  for  this,  he  received  an  impudent  answer, 
and  the  selling  of  firearms  continued  until  all  the 
little  English  settlements  of  Massachusetts  Bay  met 
together,  and  petitioned  Plymouth  to  help  put 
down  the  troublesome  neighbors. 

Governor  Bradford  again  sent  a  remonstrance 
to  the  "Sachem'7  of  Merrymount,  and  was  again 
met  with  defiance. 

Then  Captain  Miles  Standish,  with  his  eight 
picked  men,  was  sent  up  to  Boston  Bay  to  admin 
ister  justice. 

Morton  was  arrested,  but  escaped  in  the  night 
from  his  guards,  and  fled  under  cover  of  a  violent 

O  ' 

storm  to  the  blockhouse,  where  he  barricaded  the 
windows  and  doors,  arid  prepared  to  defend  him 
self. 

In  the  end  he  was  seized  and  sent  to  England 
for  trial. 

Many  months  later  he  returned  to  America,  and, 
for  various  misdemeanors,  was  set  in  the  stocks  in 
one  of  the  colonies  ;  and  the  Indians,  "the  poor, 
silly  lambs,"  as  he  called  them,  came  to  gaze  at 
their  old  boon  companion,  and  wondered  how  he 
had  ever  been  brought  so  low. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  133 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    PURITANS. 

BESIDES  the  Pilgrims,  who  had  set  up  a  church 
of  their  own,  there  were  many  people  in  England 
called  Puritans,  who  still  belonged  to  the  Estab 
lished  Church,  but  did  not  wish  to  conform  to  all 
its  ceremonies. 

So  these,  too,  dared  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  and 
sought  homes  in  America. 

They  planted  towns  along  the  curving  shores  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  on  a  peninsula  of  three 
low-browed  hills,  held  to  the  coast  by  a  narrow 
neck  of  marshland,  they  laid  out  the  capital  city 
of  Boston,  with  John  Winthrop  as  governor. 

They  had  brought  cattle,  horses,  plows,  machin 
ery,  seeds,  fruit-trees  and  all  needful  things  to  de 
velop  the  new  country. 

And  soon  Salem,  Charlestown,  Dorchester, 
Watertown,  Roxbury,  Lynn  and  other  little  Puri 
tan  towns,  sent  delegates  to  Boston  to  make  laws 
for  the  commonweal  of  all. 

Hunger,  disease  and  death  visited  the  settle 
ments  ;  but  the  brave  pioneers  built  their  houses 


134  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

and  mills,  planted  vineyards  and  orchards,  and 
marched  straight  on  in  the  paths  where  duty 
seemed  to  lead  them. 

They  made  peace  with  the  Indians.  Chickata- 
bit,  chief  of  the  Massachusetts,  who  paid  tribute  to 
Massasoit,  visited  Governor  Winthrop,  accom 
panied  by  his  bravest  warriors  and  their  wives,  to 
make  a  treaty  of  alliance  against  the  hostle  Tarra- 
tines  of  Maine. 

But  the  very  next  year,  a  hundred  Tarratine 
braves  paddled  up  the  Merrimac  under  cover  of 
the  night,  fell  upon  a  village  of  the  Massachusetts 
Indians,  and  killed  several  before  they  were  fright 
ened  away  by  the  alarm  of  the  English  guns. 

An  embassy  from  the  Mohegans  on  the  Con 
necticut  river,  came  to  beg  that  a  settlement  be 
made  on  their  beautiful  river. 

Then  Miantonomo,  of  the  great  nation  of  the 
Narragansetts,  came  in  state  to  Boston  to  form  an 
alliance  with  Winthrop. 

The  governor  received  him  in  his  own  home 
and  dined  with  him,  which  pleased  him  greatly. 
Miantonomo  went  to  meeting,  and  while  he  was 
listening  to  the  long  sermon  and  noting  how  the 
white  men  worshiped,  three  of  his  warriors  broke 
into  a  dwelling  and  stole  several  articles. 

It  was  a  difficult  matter  to  induce  the  chief  to 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  135 

whip  the  culprits,  and  very  soon  after  there  were 
rumors  that  the  Narragansetts  were  plotting  mis 
chief. 

Now  there  was  very  little  cause  for  the  Indians 
to  make  trouble  with  the  colonies  of  New  England. 

All  the  land  upon  which  they  settled  had  been 
bought,  and  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Company  had 
written  to  the  governor,  "We  pray  you  to  be 
careful  that  there  be  none  in  our  precincts  per 
mitted  to  do  any  injury  in  the  least  kind  to  the 
heathen  people.'7  Of  course,  some  of  the  traders 
were  dishonest. 

Even  the  wide  ocean  could  not  keep  all  the  ras 
cals  from  this  new  world. 

Some  way  or  other,  the  chaff  would  come  over 
with  the  wheat  in  the  grain  bags  ;  and  the  wicked 
found  a  berth  with  the  good  on  every  ship  ;  but 
the  laws  of  the  colonies  were  very  severe  against 
those  doing  wrong  to  the  Indians. 

In  the  colonial  records  is  written  :  "  It  is  agreed 
that  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall  shall  give  Indian  John 
a  hogshead  of  corn  for  the  hurt  his  cattle  did  him 
in  the  corn.77 

Another  Englishman  was  ordered  to  be  severely 
whipped  for  theft  upon  the  Indians,  branded  with 
a  hot  iron,  and  then  banished. 

When  smallpox   ravaged    the    natives,  the  Pil- 


136  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

grims  of  Plymouth  were  much  afraid  of  the  infec 
tion.  But  hearing  the  pitiful  cries  of  the  sufferers, 
they  brought  wood  and  water,  and  cooked  food  for 
them  while  they  lived,  and  buried  them  decently 
when  they  died.  But  there  was  always  a  feeling 
of  distrust  between  the  two  races  that  now  dwelt 
together  in  the  Land  of  the  Bays.  No  doubt,  the 
Indians  dimly  realized  that  the  white  men  were 
crowding  them  out  of  their  hunting-grounds. 

The  old  familiar  sounds  of  the  forests  were 
hushed  by  the  lowing  of  cattle,  the  bleating  of 
sheep  and  the  sharp  neighing  of  the  strange  horses. 

The  forests  were  being  cut  down  and  the 
streams  dammed  up. 

They  gazed  with  astonishment  at  the  plowman 
who  tore  up  more  ground  in  a  day  than  their  clam 
shells  could  scrape  up  in  a  month.  They  looked 
with  awe  on  the  windmills,  as  they  whisked  around 
in  the  air,  biting  the  corn  into  meal. 

And  while  they  wondered  over  the  many  inven 
tions,  and  gazed  wistfully  at  the  strange  things 
they  could  not  understand,  there  must  have  been 
some  who  were  wise  enough  to  see  how  it  all 
would  end. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  137 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    NARRAGANSETTS    AND    THE    PEQUODS. 

THE  settlements  of  the  white  men  kept  on  spread 
ing. 

Edward  Winslow  became  governor  of  Plymouth  ; 
and,  hearing  of  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Connec 
ticut,  he  sailed  around  Cape  Cod,  past  Nantucket 
and  Martha's  Vineyard  and  Mount  Hope,  where 
Massasoit  dwelt,  into  the  broad  Connecticut  river. 

When  he  saw  what  a  fair  land  this  valley  was, 
with  its  small  streams  and  beaver  villages,  its 
meadows  and  forests  and  hillsides,  he  decided  to 
plant  a  colony  there.  So  he  sent  a  blockhouse  up 
the  river,  which  soon  became  the  centre  of  the  lit 
tle  trading  station  of  Windsor. 

o 

Then  Weathersfield,  Hartford  and  Saybrook,  were 
founded  on  the  Connecticut  ;  and  then  some  Eng- 

/  o 

lish  crossed  the  Sound,  where  the  periwinkles  grew, 
and  settled  the  east  end  of  Long  Island. 

Now,  almost  all  these  new  towns  were  built  by 
people,  who,  for  one  reason  or  another,  had  left  the 
older  towns  along  the  coast. 

o 

Perhaps  the  strongest  reason  of  all  was  religious 
persecution. 


138  THE    STORY   OF    THE    INDIANS 

You  would  hardly  expect  these  Pilgrims  and 
Puritans  to  persecute,  when  they  themselves  had 
fled  from  persecutions.  But  this  they  did  ;  and 
among-  those  who  were  obliged  to  seek  a  new  home 
for  this  cause,  was  a  handsome  young  minister, 
named  Roger  Williams. 

He  wandered  about  for  weeks,  in  bitter  winter 
weather,  living  on  acorns  and  the  roots  of  shrubs. 

When  at  last  he  reached  Mount  Hope  Neck, 
Massasoit  found  him,  and  led  him  to  his  wigwam  ; 
and  when  the  warm  breath  of  spring  had  melted 
the  snows,  the  chieftain  led  the  exile  to  a  beautiful 
spot  by  the  side  of  a  dancing  brook.  "  Here  is 
your  home/7  he  said,  "if  you  will  dwell  among 
my  people."  The  young  preacher  learned  how  to 
plant  corn,  and  had  begun  to  build  a  house,  when 
news  came  from  Plymouth  that  he  must  move  far 
ther  away. 

So,  with  five  faithful  friends,  he  sought  a  home 
across  the  bay  among  the  Narragansetts.  As  they 
paddled  along  the  shore,  pleasant  voices  called  out, 
"  Wha-cheer,  netopl"  u  How  are  you,  friends  ?  'J 
and  they  knew  that  they  were  welcome. 

After  greeting  the  Indians  they  passed  on  up  the 
Narragansett  river,  and  near  a  hill,  where  a  spark 
ling  spring  gushed  forth,  they  founded  the  town 
of  Providence. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  139 

In  time  Newport  and  Portsmouth  were  settled 
in  this  wonderful  region  of  JNTarragansett  Bay, 
which  afterward  became  known  as  Rhode  Island. 

Now,  as  we  have  seen,  the  country  along  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  Cape  Cod  Bay  and  Buzzard's  Bay, 
was  almost  free  of  Indians,  on  account  of  the  plague  ; 
but  west  of  Narragansett  Bay  there  had  been  no 
plague,  and  thousands  of  Indians  roamed  over  the 
valleys  and  hills  of  that  region. 

The  Narragan setts  were  the  money  coiners,  who 
made  the  wampum  beads  that  passed  for  money 
everywhere. 

They  rounded  and  polished  the  periwinkle  shells 
for  the  white  beads,  and  cut  the  centre  of  the  round 
clams  for  the  black,  which  were  worth  twice  as  much 
as  the  white.  The  cutting  was  done  with  sharp- 
pointed  stones,  and  was  a  long  and  tedious  pro 
cess.  Few  of  the  other  Indians  had  the  patience 
to  make  the  wampum,  and  there  was  no  spot  in 
the  Land  of  the  Bays  where  the  shell-fish  was  so 
abundant  as  where  the  Xarra^ansetts  dwelt. 

o 

So  they  became  very  powerful.  They  paid 
tribute  to  the  Mohawks,  and  thus  were  free  from 
attack  ;  they  ransomed  their  captives,  they  bought 
land,  and  were  the  most  splendid  of  all  the  nations 
in  wampum-embroidered  garments. 

They  were  very  ambitious,  and  always  wishing 


140  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

for  more  land  across  the  bay  where  Massasoit  dwelt. 
Massasoit  was  too  feeble  to  defend  his  land  after 
the  plague  had  carried  away  so  many  of  his  war 
riors,  and  was  just  about  to  be  overcome,  when  the 
white  men  of  Plymouth  arrived  to  protect  him. 
Canonicus,  the  chief  of  the  Narragansetts,  sent  the 
rattlesnake  skin,  bound  about  a  bundle  of  arrows, 
as  a  declaration  of  war  to  these  white  men,  but, 
as  we  know,  the  stuffing  of  powder  and  bullets 
frightened  him  into  keeping  the  peace. 

West  of  the  Narragansetts  were  the  Pequods. 
They  were  the  most  warlike  of  all  the  nations  of 
New  England,  and  were  noted  for  their  cruelty  to 
captives. 

Their  sachem  was  Sassacus,  and  twenty-six 
chiefs  paid  him  tribute.  West  of  the  Pequods, 
beyond  the  Connecticut  river,  were  the  Mohegans, 
whose  sachem  was  Uncas,  and  just  at  this  time  the 
two  nations  were  at  war  with  each  other. 

So  you  can  see  the  English,  who  had  built  along 
the  Connecticut  river,  were  between  the  Pequods 
on  the  east  and  the  Mohegans  on  the  west. 

The  Pequods  had  recently  been  making  war 
upon  the  Narragansetts  east  of  them,  because  Ca 
nonicus  was  very  old,  and  Miantonomo,  his  nephew, 
who  would  succeed  him  as  chief,  was  very  young. 

So  Miantonomo  arid  his  vouno*  wife  had  made 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  141 

the  visit  to  Governor  Winthrop  in  Boston,  to  seek 
alliance  in  case  of  another  attack  from  his  foes. 

The  alliance  of  the  Puritans  with  the  Narragan- 
setts  so  enraged  the  Pequods  that  they  attacked  a 
small  English  vessel  from  Massachusetts  and  killed 
all  the  crew. 

Sassacus  straightway  sent  messengers  to  Boston 
to  plead  that  the  outrage  was  committed  in  self- 
defense,  and  asked  an  alliance  with  the  English. 
He  gave  much  wampum  as  a  gift,  and  promised 
many  beaver  and  otter  skins  as  a  tribute. 

So  peace  was  made,  and  Governor  Winthrop  in 
duced  the  Pequods  and  the  Narragansetts  to  bury 
their  tomahawks.  But  now  that  he  no  longer 
feared  his  old  enemies,  Sassacus  permitted  many 
outrages  against  English  traders.  At  last  he  went 
with  his  warriors  to  the  Narragansetts,  to  induce 
them  to  join  him  in  exterminating  the  white  men 
from  Connecticut.  "  These  strangers,"  he  said, 
"are  robbing  us  of  our  hunting-grounds.  They 
will  destroy  us  one  by  one.  Let  us  be  friends, 
and  unite  against  them.  Let  us  fire  upon  them 
from  ambush.  Let  us  lay  waste  their  harvests,  and 
starve  those  whom  we  do  not  slay  with  our  knives." 

The  colonies  realized  how  desperate  the  situation 
would  be,  if  these  two  powerful  nations  united 
against  them. 


142  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

There  was  only  one  man  who  could  prevent  this 
alliance,  and  that  was  Roger  Williams.  So  messen 
gers  were  sent  to  implore  him  to  visit  Canon- 
icus,  and  persuade  him  to  keep  his  pledges  with  the 
English.  The  young  exile  forgot  his  personal  in 
juries,  and  set  out  on  the  dangerous  journey.  He 
crossed  over  a  rough  sea,  and  traveled  many  miles 
through  forests  alive  with  foes.  When,  at  last,  he 
reached  the  village  of  the  Narragansetts,  he  found 
the  Pequods  still  urging  war. 

He  spoke  to  the  aged  Canonicus  in  his  own  lan 
guage,  and  urged  him  to  be  true  to  his  treaty  with 
the  white  men.  He  knew  much  of  the  past  history 
of  the  two  tribes,  and  for  three  days  argued  the 
case  like  a  lawyer  before  his  jury. 

He  pictured  the  wrongs  that  the  Pequods  had 
brought  upon  the  Narragansetts,  and  so  inflamed 
the  savage  passions  for  revenge,  that  in  the  end 
Canonicus  handed  back  the  war  belt.  Sassacus 
left  the  wigwam  in  a  towering  rage,  vowing  de 
struction  on  the  white  men. 

Soon  after  this,  the  Narragansetts  entered  into  a 
league  with  the  Puritans  in  the  meeting-house  in 

o  ~ 

Boston,  before  all  the  magistrates  and  elders. 

It  was  the  signal  of  their  own  doom.  If  they 
had  united  with  the  Pequods  against  the  white 
men,  they  mi^ht  have  brought  five  thousand  war- 


ROGER   WILLIAMS   PLEADS   WITH   CANONICUS. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  143 

riors  into  the  field,  and  driven  the  white  men  for 
ever  from  their  valley. 

But  the  Pequods  now  stood  alone  to  fight  their 
last  battle.  Their  pipe  of  peace  had  been  smoked 
for  the  last  time  in  the  Valley  of  the  Connecticut. 


144  THE    STORY   OF    THE    INDIANS 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    PEQUOD    WAR. 

WHEN  Sassacus,  chief  of  the  Pequods,  found  him 
self  alone  in  his  war  with  the  English,  he  built  two 
strong  forts,  one  on  the  bank  of  the  Mystic  river, 
and  the  other  six  miles  farther  west.  Into  these 
he  gathered  the  warriors,  squaws  and  children, 
and  prepared  to  fight  to  the  bitter  end. 

Meanwhile  no  Englishman  was  safe  in  the  Pequod 
country. 

Fishermen  were  seized,  their  hands  and  feet  cut 
off,  and  then  left  to  die.  Many  outrages  were  com 
mitted  which  are  too  horrible  even  to  mention. 

At  last  a  band  of  Pequods  attacked  Weathers- 
field  on  the  Connecticut,  killed  nine  men  and  car 
ried  off  two  girls. 

There  was  no  time  now  to  wait  for  the  aid  prom 
ised  from  Plymouth  and  Boston. 

Captain  John  Mason,  who  had  once  fought  the 
Spaniards  and  was  a  gallant  officer,  sailed  down 
from  Hartford  to  Saybrook,  with  ninety  Connecti 
cut  soldiers  and  seventy  Mohegan  braves.  They 
were  followed  by  the  defiant  shouts  of  some  Pequod 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  145 

warriors  who,  in  war-paint  and  feathers,  stood  on 
the  banks  of  the  river. 

At  Saybrook  they  met  Captain  John  Underbill, 
with  twenty  men  from  Massachusetts.  Twenty  of 
the  Connecticut  men  were  then  sent  back  to  protect 
tfie  settlements,  and  the  rest  sailed  out  into  Long 
Island  Sound.  They  had  decided  to  surprise  the 
Indians  by  an  attack  by  land  instead  of  by  sea,  so 
they  steered  east  and  passed  the  harbor  where  the 
Pequods  were  waiting  for  them  in  one  of  the  forts. 

When  the  warriors  looked  out  over  the  water 
from  their  high,  stockade  fence,  and  saw  the  sails 
disappear  in  the  distance,  they  leaped  on  the  walls 
and  shouted  for  joy. 

' '  The  white  men  are  afraid  !  The  white  men 
have  fled  to  Boston  for  safety !  "  they  cried,  and 
brandished  the  tomahawks  whose  sharp  edges  had 
struck  such  terror  to  the  hearts  of  their  foes. 

But  the  little  fleet  kept  on  its  course,  and  sailed 
out  of  the  Sound  to  the  west  shore  of  Narragansett 
Bay,  where  Canonicus  of  the  Narragansetts  dwelt. 

Ambassadors  waited  on  the  old  chief,  who  re 
ceived  them  as  he  sat  on  the  floor  surrounded  by 
his  nobles. 

He  listened  gravely  to  Captain  Mason  while  he 
explained  the  plan  for  surprise  of  the  Pequod  forts  ; 
and,  when  Mason  had  finished  speaking,  said  the 


146  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

plan  looked  well  on  its  face  ;  but  the  Pequods  were 
a  powerful  nation,  the  most  cruel  of  all  to  their 
captives,  and  he  did  not  want  to  risk  the  lives  of 
his  men  in  such  an  uncertain  enterprise  ;  if  the 
English  wished,  they  might  pass  through  his  ter 
ritory,  but  they  must  not  expect  help  from  his  war 
riors. 

So  the  line  of  march  began,  and  soon  small  bands 
of  the  Narragansetts  began  to  join  the  ranks,  until 
about  two  hundred  had  formed  an  escort.  They 
walked  in  front  and  boasted  what  they  would  do 
when  they  reached  the  fort  ;  but  as  they  came  near 
the  stream  of  water  which  formed  the  boundary 
line  between  the  two  nations,  they  began  to  show 
fear,  and  many  turned  back. 

The  English  continued  on  their  way  with  their 
faithful  Mohegan  allies,  under  the  sachem  Uncas, 
and  on  the  evening  of  the  second  day,  came  within 
two  miles  of  the  nearest  Pequod  fort. 

Here  they  halted  for  the  night.  Sentinels  were 
posted.  The  wearied  soldiers  threw  themselves 
on  the  ground,  and  were  soon  asleep.  The  heat  of 
the  summer  night  was  tempered  by  the  cool  breezes 
from  the  sea.  The  full  moon  shone  softly  down  on 
bush  and  rocks  and  shimmering  water,  while  these 
soldiers  slumbered  in  the  very  jaws  of  death. 

Before  daybreak  Captain  Mason  awoke  his  men 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  147 

and,  offering  up  prayer  for  help,  the  little  band 
hurried  on  to  the  attack. 

The  fort  stood  on  the  brow  of  a  hill.  It  was  a 
high  stockade  fence,  enclosing  about  seventy  wig 
wams  covered  with  thatch  and  matting. 

Within,  the  warriors  were  sleeping.  Almost  all 
night  they  had  feasted.  "  These  English  are 
squaws!  "  they  cried,  "  We  are  the  Pequods,  and 
kill  English  like  mosquitoes.'7  Then  they  shrieked 
and  groaned  and  imitated  the  wretched  colonists 

o 

whom  they  had  tortured.  And  now,  after  their 
revels,  they  were  sleeping  like  conquerors. 

A  dog  ran  howling  into  a  wigwam,  and  ' '  Owanux  I 
Owanux\"  "  The  English!  The  English  !  "  rang  out 
on  the  air.  They  sprang  from  their  couches  only 
to  meet  the  English  at  their  doorways. 

Each  captain,  with  his  men,  had  come  in  at  an 
opening,  and  surrounded  the  wigwams  of  the 
stockade  to  prevent  escape. 

There  was  a  fierce  hand-to-hand  struggle,  and 
then  the  Pequods  fled  back  to  their  tents. 

"  Burn  them  !  "  shouted  Mason.  He  seized  a 
brand  from  a  fire,  and  set  the  light  mats  in  a  blaze  ; 
Underbill  laid  a  train  of  powder,  and  the  winds 
from  the  northeast  lent  aid  to  the  awful  destcuc- 
tion. 

Those  of  the  unhappy  victims  who  did  not  per- 


148  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

ish  in  the  flames,  fell  on  the  swords  of  the  English. 
Powwows,  warriors,  women,  children — all  went 
down  to  of  ether,  and  for  a  few  short  moments  the 

O  7 

screams  and  groans  of  the  dying  mingled  with  the 
boom  of  the  muskets,  the  crackling  of  the  leaping 
flames  and  the  loud  commands  of  the  captains. 

Then  all  was  still.  The  horrible  work  was  over. 
Six  hundred  Pequods  lay  dead  on  the  field. 

Two  of  the  English  were  killed  and  several 
wounded. 

There  was  no  time  to  linger  over  the  ghastly 
scene.  At  any  moment  recruits  might  come  ;  for 
some  Indians  had  escaped  to  spread  the  news. 

The  wounded  and  dead  were  being  carried  rap 
idly  toward  the  harbor  below,  when  three  hundred 
Pequods  from  the  other  fort  appeared,  They  at 
tacked  the  troops  and  fought  as  best  they  could. 
But  Indians  seldom  fight  in  open  battle,  and  the 
noise  of  the  guns  confused  them.  They  ran  wildly 
about,  shooting  at  random  ;  they  aimed  high  and 
watched  the  effect  of  each  arrow  before  they  shot 
another,  and  were  soon  put  to  flight.  Then  they 
gathered  on  a  hill  which  overlooked  the  still  burn 
ing  stockade,  and,  when  they  saw  the  charred  and 
blackened  corpses,  they  tore  their  hair,  stamped  on 
the  ground,  and,  with  the  fury  of  demons,  rushed 
down  again  on  the  ^English  ;  but  again  they  were 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  149 

put  to  flight.  The  troops  returned  to  their  wait 
ing  ships,  and  sailed  away  to  their  homes. 

Meanwhile,  the  routed  band  of  Pequods  hurried 
to  the  western  fort  to  tell  Sassacus  of  the  destruc 
tion  of  his  people. 

The  remnant  of  the  doomed  nation  held  a  long 
and  fierce  debate  whether  they  would  attack  the 
Narragansetts,  or  fall  upon  the  English,  or  flee  to 
some  distant  tribes  for  protection. 

In  grief  and  shame  they  decided  to  flee.  So 
they  burned  the  fort  with  all  the  supplies  they 
could  not  carry,  and  started  on  their  journey. 

After  a  night  of  weary  march,  the  little  band 
stood  at  sunrise  on  a  high  hill  to  view,  for  the  last 
time,  their  lost  hunting'- g rounds. 

o  o 

Below  them  stretched  the  famous  valley  where 
two  winding*  streams  united  to  form  the  Thames, 

o 

one  flowing  with  placid  surface  from  between  high 
cliffs,  the  other  foaming  and  fretting  in  its  rocky 
bed,  as  it  hurried  to  join  the  river  which  empties 
into  the  sea. 

Here  and  there  ran  tiny  streams  where  beaver 
villages  perched  like  beehives  in  the  distance. 

Forests  of  oak  and  walnut  lay  scattered  like 
islands  among  the  meadows  where  stalked  the  deer 
and  the  antelope. 

Murmurs  of  cataracts  mingled  with  the  songs  of 


150  THE    STORY    OP    THE    INDIANS 

the  birds,  and  breezes  from  the  sea  caught  the  fra 
grance  of  the  blossoms  in  the  valley,  and  wafted 
their  incense  upward  to  greet  the  rosy  dawn. 

Ah,  it  was  sweet,  this  native  land !  Stern  and 
sorrowful,  the  group  of  exiles  lingered  a  moment 
on  the  hill,  and  then  disappeared  behind  the  cliffs. 
They  wandered  on,  hiding  by  day  in  the  swamps, 
and  stealing  like  hunted  beasts  through  the  forest 
by  night. 

Some  perished  on  the  way,  some  were  taken 
captive  and  sold  as  slaves,  and  some  were  adopted 
into  neighboring  tribes. 

Sassacus  and  five  of  his  companions  were  slain 
by  the  Mohawks,  and  their  scalps  were  sent  to  the 
English  at  Hartford. 

The  English  had  destroyed  the  Pequods  forever. 

At  the  time,  there  seemed  nothing  else  to  do  to 
save  the  lives  of  the  settlers.  But  if  the  dear  old 
pastor,  who  now  lay  in  the  little  Puritan  church 
yard  of  Leyden,  had  known  of  this  war  with  the 
Pequods,  he  would  have  said  again  :  "  Would  that 
you  had  converted  some  before  you  killed  any." 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  151 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

MIANTONOMO. 

THE  hunting-grounds,  which  the  Pequods  had 
deserted,  skirted  on  Long  Island  Sound,  and 
stretched  toward  the  north  in  lovely  hills  and 
deep  forests  where  game  was  very  abundant. 

The  Narrasransetts  and  the  Mohegans  fell  into 

O  c5 

violent  disputes  over  the  possession  of  these  lands  • 
and  the  English  might  have  easily  set  them  at 
each  other's  throats,  and  thus  been  rid  of  both. 

But  instead  of  urging  them  to  war,  the  English 
persuaded  them  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace  ;  and 
both  nations  pledged  not  to  make  war  on  each 
other  without  the  consent  of  the  colonies. 

In  spite  of  their  promises,  there  could  be  no 
peace. 

The  scouts  of  the  Narragansetts  prowled  among 
the  rocks  and  ravines  around  the  Thames,  and 
awaited,  with  impatience,  the  hour  when  they 
might  fall  upon  their  rivals. 

It  was  said  that  Miantonomo,  the  young  chief 
of  the  Narragansetts,  hired  an  assassin  to  slay  Un- 
cas  of  the  Mohegans. 


152  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

Miantonomo  denied  this,  and  said  that  Uncas 
had  cut  himself  with  a  flint  and  had  made  up 
the  story. 

The  quarrels  waxed  hotter  and  hotter,  until  one 
day  in  September,  1643,  when  he  thought  his  foes 
busy  in  the  corn-fields,  Miantonomo  planned  a 
brilliant  surprise. 

But  Uncas  was  a  wary  chieftain.  His  scouts 
were  posted  day  and  night  on  the  top  of  Fort  Hill, 
which  overlooked  his  enemies,  and  canoes  lay 
ready  in  the  ravine  below. 

When  the  foes  came  in  sight,  a  sentinel  sprang 
from  his  hiding-place  and  glided  swiftly  down  the 
Thames  with  the  news. 

In  a  few  moments  three  or  four  hundred  Mohe- 
gans  were  on  the  march. 

They  halted  wThen  they  heard  that  the  Narragan- 
setts  had  crossed  the  fords  of  the  Yantic,  and  soon 
saw  them  coming  down  the  hillside  toward  the 
plain.  Both  parties  drew  up  in  battle  array.  Mi 
antonomo  wore  a  helmet  and  corslet,  and  many  of 
his  warriors  carried  muskets,  and  were  dressed  in 
English  fashion. 

Uncas  threw  up  his  hands  and  advanced  toward 
the  enemy.  Miantonomo  did  the  same. 

11  Let  us  fight  it  out  together  in  single  combat," 
said  Uncas.  "  If  you  kill  me,  my  men  and  all  my 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  153 

lands  shall  be  yours.  If  I  kill  you,  your  men  and 
all  your  lands  shall  be  mine." 

But  Miantonomo  had  great  faith  in  his  coat  of 
mail,  and  in  the  new  muskets  his  warriors  carried  ; 
so  he  said,  "  My  men  have  come  to  fight,  arid  they 
shall  fight." 

Then  Uncas  dropped  to  the  ground  as  a  signal, 
and  a  shower  of  arrows  fell.  Swift  as  the  wind 
the  bowmen  followed  the  arrows,  and  routed  the 
foe  with  their  tomahawks.  Over  the  river  at  the 
shallows  they  fled  through  tangled  forests  and 
rushing  torrents. 

Meanwhile,  Miantonomo  was  shackled  by  his 
awkward  armor.  He  attempted  to  flee,  and  was 
caught  by  two  of  his  own  men,  who  dragged  him 
to  Uncas  and  basely  surrendered  him. 

This  chief  was  so  enraged  at  their  perfidy,  that 
he  struck  both  dead  at  his  feet.  Then  his  whoops 
of  victory  recalled  his  men  from  their  pursuit. 
The  proud  captive  sat  down  on  the  ground  without 
a  word  or  glance  at  his  victor. 

o 

"  If  you  had  taken  me,"  said  Uncas,  "I  should 
have  begged  you  for  my  life." 

But  the  chief  of  the  Narragansetts  made  no 
reply. 

He  was  taken  to  Hartford  as  a  prisoner  of  Uncas, 
and  left  there  to  be  disposed  of  as  the  English  saw  fit. 


154        THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

Now,  there  had  long  been  rumors  that  this  Mi- 
antonomo  was  plotting  against  the  English. 

The  Mohawks  had  said  he  visited  their  villages 
on  the  Hudson  with  a  hundred  of  his  bravest  war 
riors,  to  urge  them  to  go  on  the  warpath  against 
the  English. 

There  was  the  most  convincing  proof  that  he 
had  been  at  the  head  of  a  plan  to  massacre  all  the 
Palefaces. 

But  this  was  not  the  charge  upon  which  Mian- 
tonomo  had  his  trial. 

He  was  tried  for  attempts  on  the  life  of  Uncas, 
and  a  sudden  attack  on  the  Mohegans,  contrary  to 
a  pledge  given  in  the  presence  of  the  English. 

By  the  laws  of  Indian  warfare,  he  was  already 
condemned  to  death. 

It  was  decided  by  the  judges  that  the  life  of  Un 
cas  would  be  unsafe  if  the  captive  were  set  free. 

He  was  delivered  to  Uncas,  to  be  put  to  death 
without  torture. 

Now,  there  was  reason  to  make  this  condition, 
that  the  death  should  be  without  torture. 

The  Mohegans  were  noted  for  cruelty  to  cap 
tives.  In  the  expedition  against  the  Pequods, 
Uncas  and  his  warriors  had  been  given  one  pris 
oner  to  be  put  to  death,  and  they  tortured,  roasted, 
and  ate  him ! 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  155 

When  he  had  received  his  victim,  Uncas  led  him 
forth,  arid  with  several  warriors  and  two  English 
guards,  took  him  to  the  very  spot  where  he  had 
been  made  prisoner,  near  the  present  city  of  Nor 
wich. 

Here  the  procession  halted  ;  a  brother  of  Uncas 
stepped  behind  Miantonomo  and  struck  him  on  the 
head  with  a  hatchet. 

He  was  buried  where  he  fell,  and  the  place  to 
this  very  day  is  called  Sachem  Plain.  There  lay 
the  proud  chieftain  between  two  solitary  white  oak- 
trees.  In  the  distance  were  rocky  heights  of 
stunted  hemlocks,  and  the  falling  waters  of  the 
Yantic  sang  a  never-ceasing  dirge. 

Every  September,  for  many  years,  the  Narragan- 
setts  came  to  the  grave  to  lament  the  loss  of  their 
sachem  ;  and  none  came  without  bringing  a  stone, 
so  that  in  time  a  high  monument  was  reared ,  which 
might  be  seen  for  many  miles  away. 


156  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

CHAPTER  XXIY. 

THE  DUTCH  AND  THE  FRENCH. 

Now,  while  the  English  were  stretching  out  their 
boundary  lines  along  the  bays  of  New  England,  the 
Dutch,  from  Holland,  were  settling  along  the  Hud 
son  river  to  the  west  of  them. 

Strange  to  say,  these  two  peoples  did  not  agree 
so  well  in  America,  where  there  was  plenty  of 
room,  as  they  had  done  in  the  crowded,  little  town 
of  Ley  den. 

The  Dutch  claimed  all  the  land  on  both  sides  of 
the  Hudson  river,  because  Henry  Hudson  had  dis 
covered  that  river  while  on  a  voyage  for  the  West 
India  Company. 

The  great  navigator  told  the  merchants  that  he 
had  never  seen  anything  half  so  beautiful  as  this 

*/  cj 

river  in  America,  and   said  that  a  fine  fur  trade 
might  be  carried  on  there. 

Then  Dutch  ships  sailed  up  the  Hudson  with 
powder,  shot,  hatchets  and  beads,  to  trade  for  the 
furs  of  the  Indians.  One  blockhouse  was  built  where 
Albany  now  stands,  and  called  Fort  Orange,  and 
another  was  built  on  Manhattan  Island,  and  called 
New  Amsterdam. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  157 

Soon  many  ships  brought  thrifty  burghers  and 
their  wives  ;  and,  in  time,  New  Amsterdam  grew 
into  a  quaint  little  city  of  wooden  houses,  with  high 
gable  ends  of  red  and  black  tiles,  after  the  fashion 
of  houses  in  Holland. 

The  island  of  Manhattan,  where  this  little  city 
stood,  was  guarded  on  the  east  by  a  whirlpool, 
which  even  the  Indians  feared  to  pass  ;  and  on  the 
west  stood  the  bristling  guns  of  a  fort. 

To  the  north  of  the  island,  on  both  sides  of  the 
Hudson,  the  country  was  a  paradise  for  hunters 
and  trappers,  abounding  in  deer,  elk,  beaver,  and 
wild  fowl. 

To  the  west  was  Staten  Island,  and  between  the 
two  islands  lay  the  placid  bay,  where  ships  sailed 
in  and  out  in  busy  quest  of  trade. 

To  the  south  of  Manhattan,  across  an  arm  of 
the  sea,  lay  Long  Island.  The  Dutch  settled  the 
west  end  of  this  island,  and  were  soon  snapping 
their  fingers  at  the  English  from  Connecticut,  who 
had  settled  the  east  end  of  it. 

The  soil  of  the  whole  region  claimed  by  the 
Dutch  was  fine.  There  were  forests  of  red  and 
white  oak,  walnuts,  chestnuts  and  hazel.  Violets 
and  roses  filled  the  air  with  perfume,  and  herbs 
and  roots  abounded,  which,  the  Indians  said,  would 
cure  every  known  disease. 


158  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Sand  bars  and  shoals  lured  whales  and  seals  dur 
ing  winter,  and  oysters  and  periwinkles  abounded 
in  all  the  coves  of  the  coast. 

At  first  the  Dutch  had  trouble  with  the  Indians, 
and  many  a  stout  burgher  was  scalped,  but  they 
soon  bought  up  the  lands,  and  built  forts  to  defend 
them,  and  in  time  the  Indians  gave  pledges  of 
peace. 

They  explored  all  the  country  between  Cape 
Henlopen  and  Cape  Cod,  and  called  it  New  Neth 
erlands.  Then  they  planted  a  trading  station  on 
the  Connecticut  river.  So  there  these  Dutch  were, 
like  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  English.  But  their 
settlement  on  the  Connecticut  did  not  prosper. 
The  Puritans  made  shrewder  bargains  than  anyone 
would  have  believed  such  pious  people  could  make. 

They  had  the  east  end  of  Long  Island  and  some 
of  the  best  points  along  the  Connecticut  river,  with 
the  strong  fort  of  Say  brook  at  its  mouth. 

At  length,  after  many  quarrels,  a  boundary  line 
was  agreed  upon  between  the  two  nations,  which 
divided  Long  Island,  and  passed  north  between 
Connecticut  and  New  York. 

How  this  ever  happened  without  the  use  of  musk 
ets,  no  one  seems  to  know. 

Washington  Irving  declares  that  the  Dutch  did 
not  like  the  smell  of  onions.  So  the  Yankees  planted 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  159 

their  rows  of  onions  a  little  farther  west  every  year, 
and  the  Dutchmen  retired  with  tears  in  their  eyes  ! 

But  even  after  the  division  of  the  land,  there  was 
rivalry  in  the  fur  trade  with  the  Indians. 

The  jolly  Dutchmen  dandled  the  pappooses  and 
made  themselves  so  popular,  that  business  was  al 
ways  brisk. 

But  the  Dutch  were  not  the  only  troublesome 
neighbors  of  the  English.  There  stood  the  French, 
on  the  north,  to  take  away  trade. 

Montreal  and  Quebec  on  the  St.  Lawrence  river, 
and  Port  Royal  in  Nova  Scotia,  were  flourishing 
posts  for  fisheries  and  furs. 

At  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  the  French  sent 
their  vessels  along  the  coast  of  Maine  to  trade  with 
the  Tarratines,  who  had  always  been  hostile  to  the 
English.  Hundreds  of  Indian  trappers  carried 
their  packs  of  furs  over  rivers  and  through  fens,  to 
the  waiting  French  ships.  They  pitched  their  bark 
tents  along  the  beautiful  harbors  of  Maine  ;  and, 
after  the  dances,  songs  and  feasts  were  over,  they  re 
turned  home,  laden  with  trinkets,  hatchets  and  guns. 

The  English  in  the  scattered  settlements  along 
the  coasts  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  were  in 
constant  fear  of  an  attack  from  the  French  and 
their  Indian  allies,  and  soon  placed  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  Massachusetts. 


160  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

But  greater  than  the  dangers  from  the  Dutch  or 
the  French,  was  the  danger  from  their  own  Indian 
allies. 

They  were  always  at  war  with  one  another,  and 
so  it  was  impossible  to  keep  peace  with  them  all. 
The  Pequods  were  no  more,  but  the  Narragansetts, 
the  Mohegans,  and  all  the  New  England  tribes, 
seemed  ready  at  any  time  to  break  faith  with  the 
white  men. 

An  Indian  creeping  through  the  outskirts  of  the 
forest  at  daybreak  might  be  the  signal  for  the 
coming  of  a  whole  band  on  the  warpath  ;  a  gift 
passed  from  one  chief  to  another  was,  perhaps,  a 
compact  for  war. 

And  so  there  was  great  need  for  the  feeble  Eng 
lish  settlements  to  form  the  United  Colonies  of 
New  England,  as  a  defense  against  their  common 
foes. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  161 

CHAPTER  XXY. 

THE    UNITED    COLONIES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND. 

IN  1643,  the  colonies  of  Massachusetts,  Ply 
mouth,  Connecticut  and  New  Haven,  joined  to 
gether  in  a  confederation  called  the  United  Colonies 
of  New  England.  A  General  Assembly  was  formed 
of  two  delegates  from  each  colony,  which  was  to 
make  laws  for  the  public  welfare. 

Maine  and  New  Hampshire  were  at  that  time  a 
part  of  Massachusetts,  and  had  a  few  straggling 
settlements  along  the  coast. 

Rhode  Island  desired  admission  to  the  confeder 
ation,  but  ever  since  the  exile,  Roger  Williams, 
planted  Providence,  the  country  around  Narragan- 
sett  Bay  had  been  the  home  of  people  with  hobbies, 
and  so  it  was  thought  best  by  the  sister  colonies  to 
put  Rhode  Island  on  probation,  before  taking  her 
into  the  Union. 

Under  the  new  union  each  colony  had  its  gover 
nor  as  before  ;  and  when  the  delegates  met  at  Bos 
ton  they  elected  a  president. 

About  fifty  thousand  English-speaking  people 
now  dwelt  on  the  shores  of  the  beautiful  rivers 


162  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

and  bays.  They  seemed  contented  and  happy  in 
their  new  homes,  and  said  that  a  sup  of  New  Eng 
land's  air  was  better  than  a  whole  draught  of  old 
English  ale.  There  was  no  time  to  grieve  for  the 
Mends  across  the  sea.  Work  began  before  sun 
rise  and  ended  when  candles  were  snuffed  out. 

The  women  cooked,  tended  hens,  geese  and 
calves,  scoured  the  brass  warming-pans  and  pew 
ter  dishes,  spun  yarns,  and  wove  them  into  cloth, 
and  pieced  quilts.  But  the  Indians  called  these 
white  women  "  lazie  squaes,"  when  they  saw  them 
embroidering,  instead  of  hoeing  in  the  fields,  as 
their  own  wives  did. 

The  children  were  never  idle.  The  "chores" 
kept  them  busy  most  of  the  time,  and  when  an 
idle  moment  came,  there  were  the  samplers  for  the 
girls  to  work  in  verses  and  letters  of  the  alphabet ; 
there  were  traps  for  the  boys  to  set,  and  flocks  to 
watch  from  the  prowling  wolves.  Many  an  excit 
ing  story  was  told  of  how  "the  wolves  sat  on  their 
tayles  and  grinned  ;?  at  them  from  the  cover  of  the 

forest 

The  men  were  their  own  carpenters,  coopers  and 
blacksmiths,   and    were  kept  busy  from  morning 

till  night. 

In  early  spring,  the  herrings  were  to  be  pickle 
and  dried,  and  hung  in  strings  in  the  barn  loft,  the 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  1G3 

sheep  were  to  be  sheared,  the  corn  to  be  planted, 
the  gardens  to  be  tended. 

In  autumn,  the  salt  grass  was  to  be  cut,  the  rye 
was  to  be  threshed  with  the  flail,  the  shell-fish  to  be 
gathered,  the  cider  to  be  cared  for. 

In  winter  there  were  fences  to  make,  nails  to 
hammer,  bullets  to  mould,  and  timber  to  cut  on  the 
decrease  of  the  moon. 

These  forefathers  of  ours  had  great  faith  in  the 
moon.  They  would  plant  and  reap,  set  hens  and 
shear  sheep,  when  the  signs  were  right  by  the 
moon. 

They  were  in  such  constant  fear  of  the  Indians, 
that  they  kept  close  to  the  sea  and  soon  became  ship 
builders  and  traders. 

Farmers  built  scows  for  transporting  wood,  and 
sloops  for  freighting  it  to  market  ;  and  crafts  with 
one  and  two  masts  for  fishing  and  whaling. 

The  launch  of  a  vessel,  from  the  woods  where  ;t 
had  been  built,  was  a  great  event. 

It  was  loaded  on  wheels,  and  hauled  by  oxen  to 
the  landing-place,  where  the  wheels  were  run  out 
into  the  water  till  the  vessel  floated  off. 

At  the  time  of  the  union  of  the  colonies,  there 
had  been  five  large  vessels  built,  besides  one  hun 
dred  and  ninety-two  smaller  sloops  for  the  coasting 
trade  ;  and  an  export  trade  had  been  commenced. 


164  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Fish  and  furs,  corn,  cattle,  butter,  turpentine, 
pitch  and  tar,  were  sent  in  home-made  vessels  to 
the  sister  colonies  of  Virginia  and  Maryland. 

Home-made  vessels  carried  to  England,  fish  cured 
with  salt  made  from  the  sea.  They  sailed  to  the 
Bermudas  for  potatoes,  cotton  and  sugar,  and  then 
spread  their  sails  to  carry  their  cargoes  into  the 
ports  of  Spain,  to  bring  back  the  luxuries  of  Europe. 

At  first,  there  was  a  great  lack  of  money  for  the 
home  trade.  Then  Indian  wampum  was  used. 
The  beads  could  be  easily  divided  up,  and  were 
convenient. 

About  the  time  of  the  Pequod  war,  some  of  the 
colonies  made  the  law  that  bullets  should  pass  as 
money,  and  the  casting  of  bullets  kept  everybody 
busy. 

Until  this  time  there  had  been  little  travel  be 
tween  the  settlements. 

There  was  no  road  between  Plymouth  and  Bos 
ton. 

A  Pilgrim  took  a  boat  to  Wey mouth,  and  then 
followed  an  Indian  trail,  in  and  out  among  the  salt 
marshes,  to  Boston. 

One  dignified  alderman  lost  his  way,  and  wan 
dered  three  days  and  nights  without  food,  and  re 
turned  home  at  last  with  his  clothes  nearly  torn 
off  by  the  underbrush. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  165 

The  trail  was  so  difficult  to  trace,  that,  after  a 
time,  trees  were  cut  down  to  make  a  bridle-path  ; 
then  a  tax  was  laid  on  the  colonies  to  improve  the 
travel,  and  many  good  roads  were  built  through 
the  hills  and  over  hollows,  and  bridges  were  thrown 
across  streams,  which,  a  few  years  before,  had  been 
forded  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Indians. 

At  this  time,  almost  every  town  had  its  church, 
fort  and  prison. 

Many  of  the  houses  in  the  larger  towns  were 
brick  or  stone  ;  but  most  of  the  people  were  con 
tent  with  log  cabins  of  one  or  two  rooms. 

There  was  always  a  great  fireplace  at  one  end 
of  the  large  room,  where  the  mush  kettle  hung  on 
a  crane.  When  the  men  and  boys  brought  in  the 
back  log  for  the  fire,  it  was  so  heavy  that  the  tim 
bers  and  rafters  fairly  creaked  with  their  footsteps. 
There  were  blocks  of  wood  for  children's  seats  at 
the  corners  of  the  fireplace,  and  a  large  settle,  with 
a  high  back,  kept  off  the  cold  air. 

Tin  candlesticks  hung  on  nails  over  the  chimney, 
and  also  bundles  of  catnip,  herbs  and  roots,  sup 
posed  to  be  cures  for  almost  any  disease. 

The  walls  were  adorned  with  raccoon  and  fox 
skins,  lobster's  and  bear's  claws. 

Bundles  of  red  peppers,  strings  of  dried  apples, 
sausages,  and  flitches  of  bacon,  festooned  the  rafters. 


166  THE    STORY    OP   THE    INDIANS 

The  long  clock  hung  in  many  homes,  and  the  spin 
ning-wheels  stood  in  the  corners. 

There  were  a  few  precious  books  from  dear  Old 
England,  among  which  was  always  the  family 
Bible,  with  its  records  of  births,  marriages  and 
deaths. 

Of  course  in  the  best  houses  there  was  some 
show  of  rugs,  and  silver  plate,  and  fine  furniture. 

And  to  a  visitor  from  the  country,  Boston  seemed 
a  splendid  city,  wdth  its  brick  houses  and  pleasant 
gardens.  The  streets  were  paved  with  cobble 
stones,  and  crowded  with  hackney  coaches,  sedan 
chairs,  and  four-horse  shays,  in  which  the  gentry 
rode,  with  negro  slaves  for  drivers. 

o 

The  gentry  were  dressed  in  embroidered  coats, 
satin  waistcoats,  silk  hose  and  wigs  ;  some,  like 
Winthrop,  wore  stiff  ruffs,  and  some  wore  broad, 
flat  collars.  The  ladies  were  gay  in  bright  silks 
and  gauze  scarfs,  and  put  black  patches  on  their 
cheeks  to  improve  their  beauty. 

All  this  citified  splendor  made  the  farmer  or 
fisherman  from  a  little  country  settlement  feel  very 
timid  and  ill  at  ease,  as  he  walked  up  the  crowded 
street,  which  led  down  to  the  wharf  of  the  capital 
city.  But  when  he  saw  a  fine  coach  followed  close 
by  flocks  of  sheep,  and  ox-carts  filled  with  cord- 
wood  or  hay,  he  began  to  feel  more  at  home ;  and 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  167 

when,  behind  the  mincing  lady  of  fashion,  he  saw 
rosy-cheeked  farmers7  wives  in  homespun,  bring 
ing  baskets  of  butter  and  eggs,  he  stepped  along 
as  briskly  as  the  next  one  ;  and  when  at  last 
this  backwoodsman  found  himself  comfortably 
seated  in  the  Bunch  of  Grapes  tavern,  with  many 
others  just  like  himself,  and  heard  the  latest  news 
from  Old  England,  he  felt,  as  he  sipped  his  ale, 
that  there  was  nowhere  in  the  world  a  city  like 
Boston,  and  no  nation  quite  so  full  of  promise  as 
the  United  Colonies  of  New  England. 

Each  town  had  its  own  selectmen  to  make  laws, 
to  exterminate  foxes  and  crows,  to  protect  oyster 
fishing,  to  look  after  yoking  the  hogs  on  the  com 
mon,  to  see  that  bridges  were  built  and  marshes 
drained. 

Then  there  was  the  constable,  who  was  a  very 
important  personage,  and  carried  a  black  staff, 
tipped  with  brass  as  a  badge  of  his  office. 

He  was  always  busy.  The  drunkards  wrere  to 
be  found  out,  fined  and  flogged,  and  marked  with 
a  large  red  D.  Liars  were  to  be  put  in  the  stocks, 
scolds  to  be  ducked  in  the  ponds. 

One  man,  who  charged  too  much  for  making  a 
pair  of  stocks,  had  the  privilege  of  sitting  an  hour 
in  them  himself.  It  was  death  for  a  child  to  strike 
a  parent,  except  in  self-defense. 


168  THE    STORY    OP   THE    INDIANS 

There  were  laws  against  wearing  the  hair  long, 
or  dressing  too  gayly,  or  laughing  too  loudly. 

There  were  laws  which  made  the  bachelors  so 
miserable,  that  they  soon  took  wives  in  self-defense  ; 
there  were  laws  for  widows,  and  laws  for  maids  ; 
and  of  course  the  more  laws  there  were,  the  busier 
the  constable  and  the  ti  thing-man  were  kept  to  see 
that  these  laws  were  obeyed. 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  169 

CHAPTER  XXYI. 

CHURCH    AND    SCHOOL. 

IN  every  village  of  Puritan  New  England,  the 
minister  was  the  most  important  personage. 

Very  few  were  honored  with  the  title  of  Mr.  or 
Mrs.;  but  the  minister  and  his  wife  were  always 
called  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

In  church,  the  elders  sat  in  great  state  just  be 
low  the  pulpit,  facing  the  congregation,  and  the 
deacons  sat  a  step  lower,  noting  well  any  sign  of 
laughing  among  the  young  folks.  The  men  and 
women  sat  apart.  The  men  who  faced  the  minis 
ter  wore  long  jackets,  with  a  belt  at  the  waist,  and 
loose  trousers  reaching  only  to  the  knee,  where 
they  were  tied,  and  coarse,  square-toed  shoes, 
adorned  with  enormous  buckles.  Their  hair  was 
combed  straight  back,  arid  tied  with  black  ribbon. 

The  women  wore  short  gowns,  stiff  petticoats, 
and  white  aprons.  The  sleeves  of  the  gowns  were 
short,  and  long  mittens  came  above  the  elbow. 
Their  cloaks  were  short,  with  the  hoods  thrown 
back  in  meeting. 

The  boys  and  girls  sat  in  separate  places,  some 
times  on  the  gallery  stairs,  and  sometimes  on  the 


170  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

steps  leading  up  to  the  pulpit,  and  were  under  the 
charge  of  the  ti thing-man. 

Everybody  had  to  sit  very  straight,  and  listen 
without  a  smile,  or  going  once  to  sleep.  The  tith- 
ing-man  carried  a  long  rod,  with  a  fox- tail  on  one 
end  ;  and  if  a  man  or  a  boy  was  so  unlucky  as  to 
fall  asleep,  he  rapped  him  over  the  head  with  the 
hard  end,  but  when  a  girl  or  a  woman  nodded,  he 
tickled  her  face  with  the  soft,  furry  end. 

The  Sabbath  day  began  at  six  o'clock  on  Satur 
day  evening,  when  the  people  became  sour  and 
sad.  All  work  was  laid  aside,  and  the  old  Bible 
was  brought  out,  to  prepare  the  family  for  the  de 
votions  of  the  morrow.  On  Sabbath,  each  man  ap 
peared  to  have  lost  his  best  friend.  The  town 
records  show  fines  for  combing  a  wig  on  Sabbath, 
and  humming  a  tune,  and  walking  too  fast. 

The  rolling  of  wheels  through  the  streets,  was  a 
great  breach  of  respect  to  the  Lord's  day;  and 
Samuel  Brown,  of  Norwich,  was  fined  for  riding 
in  a  chaise  to  meeting  ;  some  one  else  was  fined  for 
running  into  church  when  it  rained. 

Next  to  the  meeting -house  was  the  school. 
There  were  many  highly-educated  men  in  New 
England,  who  had  brought  libraries  with  them, 
and  were  determined  that  their  children  should 
have  good  educations. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  171 

In  almost  every  town  a  school  was  established, 
which  should  be  free  for  the  rich  and  the  poor 
alike. 

The  little  log  school-house  had  a  wide  fireplace, 
arid  windows  with  oiled  paper,  instead  of  glass 
windows. 

And  on  the  rude  benches,  hacked  by  many  a 
jack-knife,  sat  the  "hopes  of  the  future77  with 
shining,  morning  faces.  They  were  clad  in  the 
linsey-woolsey,  which  their  mothers  had  spun. 

The  young  men  and  young  women  were  in  the 
far  end  of  the  room,  and  the  smallest  children  sat 
near  the  teacher,  and  studied  aloud,  to  be  sure 
they  were  learning  their  lessons  aright. 

The  birch  rod  was  thought  a  great  help  in  get 
ting  the  lessons,  and  hung  on  the  wall  over  the 
teachers  seat. 

The  primers  were  religious  rhymes,  and  the 
readers  were  Bibles. 

It  was  not  unusual  for  a  little  five-year-old  to 
quote  Scriptures,  like  the  preacher  himself,  and  as 
for  catechism,  if  any  child  did  wrong,  it  was  from 
sheer  wickedness,  because  he  had  learned  every 
step  of  the  way  to  be  good  ;  so  there  was  no  excuse 
for  the  culprit,  and  he  was  punished  accordingly. 

The  teachers  were  paid  in  corn,  or  barley,  or 
other  produce  from  the  farms. 


172  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Each  child  was  required  to  furnish,  through  his 
parents,  a  cord  of  wood,  and  if  this  were  not 
brought,  he  was  not  allowed  to  sit  near  enough  to 
the  fire  to  keep  warm. 

Because  of  the  openings  between  the  logs,  the 
room  was  always  very  cold,  except  near  the  fire. 
So  there  sat  the  delinquent,  off  by  himself,  his  little 
body  covered  with  goose-flesh,  and  his  toes  stiff, 
under  the  frozen  leather. 

This  seems  a  very  strict  rule ;  but  wood  was 
everywhere  to  be  had  for  the  getting,  and  idle 
ness  was  despised  by  these  people  of  New  Eng 
land. 

You  will  remember  how  the  Puritans  cut  down 
the  May-pole  at  Merrymount,  and  refused  to  cele 
brate  May-day,  because  it  was  a  festival  of  the 
heathen.  They  also  refused  to  call  the  days  of 
the  week  as  we  do,  because  the  names  had  been 
taken  from  the  heathen  gods.  So  they  called  Sun 
day,  First-day,  Monday,  Second-day,  and  so  on. 

There  were  always  more  fast  days  than  feast 
days. 

There  were  fasts,  to  ward  off  pests  in  the  grain, 
and  withering  droughts,  and  killing  frosts,  and  at 
tacks  from  the  Indians. 

But  there  were  also  thanksgiving  days  for  the 
blessings  received  ;  and  sometimes  the  New  World 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  173 

was  compared  to  the  Land  of  Goshen,  to  which 
they  had  escaped  from  bondage,  like  the  Israelites 
of  old. 

There  was  an  abundance  of  maize,  and  all  grains 
and  vegetables  flourished. 

Fruit-trees  were  much  improved  over  the  varie 
ties  they  had  brought  with  them  to  plant. 

Besides  the  thanksgiving  days,  there  were  other 
times  when  the  Puritans  were  merry. 

There  were  fishing-parties,  when  the  fish  came 
up  the  rivers  from  the  sea ;  there  were  husking- 
bees,  when  the  corn  was  ripe ;  and  log-rollings, 
when  all  the  neighbors  helped  to  build  a  new 
house  ;  there  were  spelling-schools,  and  quilting- 
bees,  and  strawberry  and  raspberry-pickings 
among  the  rocky  glens  and  pastures. 

Dancing  was  forbidden,  but  no  laws  in  the  world 
could  keep  young  feet  from  tripping  nimbly  in 
and  out  among  the  trees  in  the  nutting  season, 
when  the  joyous  laugh  resounded  through  the  au 
tumn  forest. 

On  training-day,  there  was  a  great  muster  of 
men  from  sixteen  to  sixty  for  drill.  The  arms 
were  muskets,  swords  and  pikes.  The  muskets  had 
match-locks,  or  flint-locks,  and  a  rest  for  taking 
aim.  Pikes  were  ten  feet  long,  and  the  tallest  men 
were  always  chosen  to  carry  these.  There  were 


174  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

twice  as  many  musketeers  as  pikemen.  There  was 
no  regular  uniform.  Some  wore  corslets  of  steel, 
and  some  thick  wadded  coats  of  cotton.  Some  wore 
beaver  hats,  and  some  felt  hats,  and  some  caps  knit 
by  their  sisters  or  sweethearts. 

Training-day  was  a  holiday  for  everybody,  and 
generally  came  around  once  a  month.  There  was 

o  ./ 

a  great  baking,  and  an  extra  setting  of  traps  for 
a  feast. 

The  women  and  children  were  proud  of  their 
soldiers  with  weapons  of  all  sizes  and  shapes,  and 
followed  them  along  the  line  of  march  with  baskets 
of  gingerbread  and  bottles  of  harmless  drinks. 

Sometimes  prizes  were  offered  for  the  best  shot 
on  these  occasions.  A  dummy  was  set  up,  and 
whoever  hit  the  spot  most  likely  to  kill,  was 
awarded  the  medal  ;  but  there  was  often  much  dis 
pute  as  to  where  the  fatal  spot,  in  a  dummy,  might 
be! 

"  Put  right  hands  to  fire-lock  !  Put  gun  on  left 
shoulder !  Hoo  !  "  shouted  the  captain,  as  he  ma- 
noeuvered  his  men  on  the  green. 

Many  a  boy  learned  in  this  target  practice,  to 
speed  straight  his  bullet. 

And  you  will  find  that  in  the  years  to  come 
there  was  need  of  skill  at  arms. 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  175 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

PRAYING    TOWNS. 

AN  Indian  erect  with  an  arrow  in  his  right  hand, 
and  the  motto,  "  Come  over  and  help  us/7  that  was 
the  seal  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts. 

But  until  the  confederation  of  the  colonies,  the 
English  wrere  busy  hewing  out  their  homes  in  the 
wilderness,  and  did  little  to  civilize  the  Indians. 

Just  about  that  time  Thomas  Mayhew  purchased 
Martha's  Vineyard  and  Nantucket,  where  several 
tribes  of  Indians  dwelt. 

His  young  son,  Thomas,  formed  the  plan  of 
educating  and  converting  the  Indians.  So  he 
built  houses,  collected  the  natives  about  him,  and 
commenced  his  missionary  work. 

Hiacoomes  was  his  first  convert ;  but  it  was 
with  much  tribulation  that  this  warrior  remained 
true  to  the  faith. 

One  chief  jeered  at  him  and  called  him  "Eng 
lishman,77  which  was  enough  to  wound  an  Indian 
who  had  any  pride  at  all.  Another  told  him  it 
was  madness,  for  a  brave  with  a  wife,  to  break  with 
the  old  religion.  What  would  he  do  if  his  family 


176  THE    STORY    OF    THE   INDIANS 

fell  sick,  and  the  powwow  of  the  village  refused 
to  help  them  ?  Another  told  him  it  was  infamous 
to  barter  thirty-seven  gods  for  one. 

This  last  troubled  Hiacoomes  greatly,  until  the 
Rev.  Mayhew  convinced  him  that  his  one  God  was 
worth  all  the  Indian  gods  put  together. 

Several  schools  and  churches  were  established 
on  the  islands,  and  in  a  few  years  over  a  thousand 
Indians  professed  to  be  Christians. 

When,  at  last,  the  devoted  young  missionary  em 
barked  for  England  to  seek  aid  in  his  work,  his 

o 

ship  was  lost  at  sea,  and  he  was  never  seen  again. 

Meanwhile,  John  Eliot,  of  Roxbury,  had  learned 
the  Indian  language,  that  he  might  preach  to  the 
heathen. 

But  in  all  his  labors  with  the  Indians,  Eliot  was 
opposed  by  the  powwows.  These  powwows,  or 
medicine  men,  were  fast  losing  their  hold  on  the 
tribes  of  the  Massachusetts,  and  used  all  their  arts 
to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  new  religion. 

So  Eliot  took  his  converts  from  the  gibes  of 
their  companions,  and  laid  out  the  town  of  Na- 
tick,  on  the  Charles  river  near  Boston,  and  soon 
there  were  four  hundred  Christians  in  Natick. 
They  built  a  fort,  a  church,  and  their  own 
houses. 

The  women  were  taught  to  spin,  weave,  cook 


OF   NEW    ENGLAND.  177 

and  keep  house.  The  men  learned  to  cultivate  the 
orchards,  and  to  sow  the  small  grain. 

They  followed  the  long  furrows  with  endless  de 
light,  and  were  very  proud  of  their  advanced 
methods,  in  spite  of  the  jeering  taunts  from  the  un 
converted  that  the  white  men  were  turning  them 
into  squaws. 

Other  towns  were  built  for  the  converts  ;  soon 
there  were  fourteen  praying  towns  in  Massachusetts. 

Money  was  raised  in  England  to  buy  the  Indians 
clothing,  books,  and  implements  for  work. 

In  summer  they  gathered,  out  under  the  trees, 
to  hear  the  good  Eliot  tell  about  the  white  man's 
God.  It  was  a  pretty  picture  which  they  made  in 
the  shadow  of  the  forest. 

The  women  and  children  sat  in  a  circle  on  the 
ground,  and  the  warriors  stood  up,  with  arms  folded 
across  their  chests. 

Some  wore  the  skins  of  beasts,  and  mantles  of 
feathers,  some  bright,  woolen  blankets,  and  some 
were  dressed  like  the  English. 

First  they  sang  a  hymn  in  all  sorts  of  tunes,  and 
prayer  was  offered.  Then  the  little  Indians  stood 
within  the  circle,  and  after  much  twisting  of  half 
naked  little  red  bodies,  and  much  digging  of  toes 
in  the  ground,  and  many  shy  glances  at  their 
proud  mothers,  they  answered  the  questions  of  the 


178  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

catechism.  No  doubt  the  young  rascals  were  only 
kept  from  pursuit  of  the  squirrels,  darting  past  them 
in  the  thickets,  by  their  great  awe  of  the  white 
powwow. 

After  the  catechism,  questions  were  allowed. 
'Was  it  not  strange,"  the  warriors  asked,  "that 
the  white  man's  God  could  be  in  Massachusetts,  and 
in  Connecticut,  and  in  England  across  the  sea,  all 
at  one  and  the  same  time  ?  The  great  Manitou  of 
the  Indians  could  only  be  in  one  place  at  a  time.'' 
"God  was  so  used/7  they  said,  "to  hearing  the 
English  pray,  that  He  could  well  understand  them  ; 
but  was  it  likely  that  He  was  acquainted  with  the 
Indian  language  ?  " 

To  this  question  Mr.  Eliot  replied  that  God  had 
made  all  things,  and  all  men,  not  only  English, 
but  Indians  ;  and  having  made  them  both,  he  un 
derstood  them  both. 

He  held  up  a  beautiful  basket,  arid  said  that  the 
person  who  made  the  basket  knew  the  different 
twigs  in  it,  though  others  might  not. 

Sometimes  the  questions  asked  were  very  simple 
and  foolish,  and  then  the  Indians  themselves  would 
call  out,  "That  is  a  pappoose  question!"  which 
meant  "  Now  you  talk  like  a  baby  !  "  The  colon 
ists  felt  great  pride  in  the  new  converts. 

Governor  Winthrop  and  others  visited  the  pray- 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  179 

ing  towns,  and  wrote  to  friends  in  England  of  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel  among  the  heathen.  Mr. 
Eliot  determined  to  give  them  the  Bible  in  their 
own  language.  First  he  printed  a  short  catechism, 
and  then  he  printed  two  hundred  New  Testaments, 
in  the  Algonquin  language.  He  hoped,  by  this 
means,  to  convert  all  the  tribes  in  New  England. 

But  the  greater  part  of  the  Indians  held  to  the 
gods  of  their  fathers. 

The  Narragansetts  listened  patiently,  once  a 
month,  to  Roger  Williams,  because  they  loved  him  ; 
but  few  were  converted  to  his  faith. 

Massasoit  remained  always  the  friend  of  the 
white  men  ;  but  said  the  gods  of  the  Wampanoags 
were  good  enough  for  him. 

This  great  chief  was  now  very  old.  He  had 
kept  all  his  pledges  with  the  English. 

He  visited  the  governor  at  Plymouth  every  year. 
He  also  dressed  himself  in  feathers,  paints  and 
wampum  ;  and,  with  an  escort  of  splendid  warriors, 
made  a  visit  to  Governor  Winthrop  in  Boston. 

Many  interesting  stories  are  told  of  Massasoit. 
Once,  when  Governor  Winslow  had  been  to  Con 
necticut,  he  visited  Massasoit  on  his  way  home  ; 
and,  when  he  was  ready  to  set  out  on  his  journey 
again,  the  chief  offered  to  be  his  guide  through 
the  forest. 


180  THE   STORY   OP    THE    INDIANS 

Then  he  sent  a  swift  courier  in  advance,  who  an 
nounced  in  Plymouth  that  the  Governor  was  dead. 
The  people  mourned  bitterly  over  the  loss  of  the 
noble  man. 

But  the  next  day,  Massasoit  brought  Winslow 
into  town,  alive  and  well  ;  and  the  sorrow  was 
changed  to  rejoicing. 

He  then  explained,  that  this  was  one  of  the  cus 
toms  of  his  tribe,  in  order  to  cause  greater  joy  over 
the  return  of  an  absent  friend. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  the  noble  Massasoit  was, 
to  bring  his  two  oldest  sons  to  Plymouth,  that  they 
might  renew  the  pledges  which  lie  himself  had 
made  to  the  white  men. 

And  then,  in  1661,  the  honored  old  chieftain 
died,  and  was  laid  away  to  rest  in  the  burial-ground 
of  his  royal  race.  He  was  true  to  his  gods  to  the 
last. 

A  little  corn  was  placed  in  the  grave,  to  sustain 
him  on  the  long  journey  to  the  Happy  Hunting 
Grounds.  His  nmsket,  the  much-prized  red  coat, 
and  other  presents  from  the  white  men,  were  laid 
by  his  side. 

But  it  was  the  bow  and  arrow  and  tomahawk 
that  he  wanted  close  by  his  hand  ;  for  with  these 
he  would  meet  the  warriors  who  had  gone  on  be 
fore. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  181 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

KING    ALEXANDER. 

EACH  town  established  in  New  England  was 
called  a  new  candlestick,  and,  in  1661,  when  Mas- 
sasoit  died,  there  were  about  ninety  of  these  Puri 
tan  candlesticks  in  the  Land  of  the  Bays. 

As  you  have  seen,  most  of  the  lands  occupied 
by  the  English,  were  not  claimed  by  the  Indians, 
because  the  tribes  which  dwelt  on  them  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  plague. 

Then,  too,  many  tracts  had  been  bought. 

They  had  been  paid  for  with  hatchets,  blankets, 
and  perishable  articles  ;  and,  when  these  things 
were  gone,  the  Indians  began  to  think  they  had 
been  cheated  out  of  their  lands. 

Even  before  the  death  of  Massasoit,  his  two 
sons,  "Wamsetta  and  Pometacom,  chided  the  war 
riors  who  sold  their  land.  "  You  are  selling  your 

O     J 

birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage,"  they  said,  "  and 
we  shall  soon  not  have  ground  enough  to  spread 
our  blankets  on." 

They  claimed  that  the  Indians  did  not  under 
stand  the  deeds  for  lands  to  which  they  had 


182        THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

signed  the  rude  outlines  of  a  bow  arid  arrow,  or 
hatchet,  or  turtle,  or  any  of  the  various  totems 
which  represented  their  names.  But  the  white 
men  said  that  the  Indians  were  shrewd  and  cun 
ning  in  their  trades.  They  always  got  the  best 
price  they  could  for  their  furs,  and  sold  their  lands 
so  cheaply  because  they  prized  the  trinkets  more 
highly  than  they  did  the  lands. 

The  colonies,  however,  made  strict  laws  against 
buying  lands  without  permission  of  the  courts, 
where  the  purchase  might  be  examined. 

Anyone  buying  land,  without  permission,  was 
fined  five  pounds  sterling  for  each  acre  that  he 
bought.  Fences  were  ordered  to  be  put  up  to 
keep  cattle  from  the  Indians'  corn,  and  many  laws 
were  made  to  protect  the  Indians. 

Josiah  Plastowe,  "  for  stealing  four  baskets  of 

o 

corn  from  an  Indian,77  was  ordered  "  to  give  him 
eight  baskets  of  corn  and  pay  to  the  court  a  fine 
of  five  pounds,  and  hereafter  to  be  called  by  the 
name  of  Josiah  and  not  Mr.,  as  formerly  he  used 
to  be." 

The   Puritans   believed   that  their  coming  had 

o 

been  a  benefit  to  the  savages. 

Did  they  not  have  horses  and  oxen  to  lessen 
their  labor,  and  plows  to  produce  more  corn? 

Did  they  not  have  a  market  for  their  furs  ? 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  183 

Had  they  not  learned  to  store  up  corn  against  a 
famine,  and  build  warm  cabins  against  winter 
weather  ? 

Were  there  not  schools  and  churches  and  the 
catechism  ? 

But  when  Wamsetta  became  chief  of  the  Wam- 
panoags  in  the  place  of  his  father,  Massasoit,  he 
pondered  well  the  wampum  belts  of  his  people. 
They  told  of  boundless  forests  and  sea-coast. 

He  looked  about  him  and  saw  his  tribes  crowded 
into  two  small  peninsulas  of  Mount  Hope  and 
Tiverton. 

The  game  was  frightened  from  the  forest,  and 
the  fish  were  taken  from  the  rivers. 

Every  day  he  gazed  wistfully  at  the  lands  that 
were  gone.  There  lay  the  orchards,  and  stretches 
of  waving  grain,  the  pastures  dotted  with  herds  of 
browsing  cattle,  and  the  gardens  gay  in  the  min 
gled  blossoms  of  the  old  world  and  the  new. 

How  he  despised  the  placid  scene  !  How  he 
longed  to  chase,  once  more,  the  bounding  deer 
through  sunny  glades,  and  hunt  the  bear  in  the 
mazes  of  a  tangled  forest ! 

But  the  new  king  gave  no  sign  of  his  anguish. 

He  followed  the  footsteps  of  his  father  to  the 
lodges  of  the  Palefaces.  He  went  to  Plymouth 
and  renewed  the  pledges  of  Massasoit. 


184  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

Then  he  went  to  buy  powder,  and  was  given 
several  pounds  as  a  present. 

At  length  he  and  his  brother  went  in  state  to 
Plymouth  to  request  English  names,  and  they 
were  called  Alexander  and  Philip  by  the  magis 
trates. 

And  so  these  two  Indian  braves  heard  with  won 
der  of  Philip  and  Alexander  of  Greece,  who  had 
conquered  the  world  in  the  olden  time. 

Who  can  tell  if  that  very  story  may  not  have 
aroused  their  slumbering  ambition  ? 

At  any  rate,  very  soon  after  this  event,  news 
came  that  Alexander  had  visited  his  old  enemies, 
the  Narragansetts,  and  was  plotting  to  massacre 
the  English. 

He  was  summoned  to  court  to  answer  the 
charges,  and  as  he  did  not  appear,  Major  Josiah 
Winslow  was  sent  to  serve  a  summons. 

The  major  and  his  musketeers  found  the  chief 
reposing  with  his  warriors  in  a  hunting  lodge, 
after  a  long  chase  in  the  forest. 

Their  arms  were  stacked  at  the  doorway. 

While  the  soldiers  seized  the  arms,  Major  Win- 
slow  entered  the  lodge  and  served  the  writ. 

The  proud  chief  refused  to  go  ;  and  when  Win- 
slow  pointed  a  pistol  at  him,  Alexander  became 
insane  with  rage.  He  sprang  for  his  weapons, 


THE    PROUD    CHIEF    REFUSED    TO    GO. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  185 

but  all  the  arms  were  under  guard.  Resistance 
was  useless. 

His  warriors,  fearing  for  his  life,  begged  him  to 
submit,  and  at  length  he  bowed  his  head  and  set 
forth  under  an  escort.  Eighty  warriors  and  Wee- 
tamoe,  his  wife,  followed  him  in  mournful  silence 
as  he  set  out  for  Plymouth. 

The  excitement  of  his  arrest  threw  Alexander 
into  a  violent  fever. 

He  was  too  ill  to  proceed  farther  than  Duxbury, 
and  was  allowed  to  return  home.  He  grew  so  ill, 
that  his  warriors  made  a  litter  from  the  boughs, 
and  carried  him  through  the  forests  to  the  Taun- 
ton  which  flowed  past  his  lodge  in  Pocasset. 

But  the  silent  company  had  not  paddled  far 
down  the  stream,  before  it  was  plain  that  their 
young  chief  was  dying. 

With  bursting  hearts,  his  devoted  men  lifted  the 
cold  form  from  the  canoe  and  laid  it  on  a  mossy 
bank. 

And  there  in  the  shadows  of  the  forest  he  loved 
so  well,  the  proud  spirit  of  Alexander  broke  like  a 
reed  in  the  winter's  blast. 

His  faithful  wife  bent  in  anguish  over  the  life 
less  clay. 

With  his  head  pillowed  on  her  breast,  Alexander 
had  gone  in  haste  to  join  his  father,  Massasoit,  in 


186  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

the  Happy   Hunting  Grounds,   where  a  Paleface 
might  never  safely  enter. 

And  Weetamoe,  now  the  squaw-sachem  or  queen 
of  Pocasset,  returned  to  her  lodge  breathing  ven 
geance  on  the  English,  who  had  brought  this  shame 
and  sorrow  to  her  wigwain. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  187 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

KING    PHILIP. 

AFTER  the  death  of  Alexander,  Philip  became 
king  of  the  Wampanoags. 

His  chief  seat  was  in  Bristol,  where  the  little 
peninsula  gathers  itself  up  into  a  high  hill,  called 
Mount  Hope,  which  overlooks  the  waters  and 
islands  of  Narragansett  Bay. 

Here,  where  the  sea-breeze  gently  fanned  his 
brow  in  summer,  and  the  warm  gulf  stream  tem 
pered  the  frosts  in  winter,  King  Philip  dwelt  with 
his  wife  and  child. 

If  he  felt  resentment  toward  the  English  for  the 
death  of  his  brother,  he  concealed  it  from  his  best 
friends. 

He  went  to  Plymouth  to  renew  the  pledges  of 
friendship  which  Alexander  had  given,  and  for  five 
years  there  wras  peace. 

The  white-winged  ships  brought  new  settlers 
every  year,  until  there  were  more  than  twice  as 
many  white  men  as  red  men  in  New  England. 

The  Indians  longed  more  and  more  for  the  cun 
ning  inventions,  which  the  English  gave  in  exchange 
for  their  lands.  Tract  after  tract  was  signed  away  ; 


188  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

many  more  candlesticks  were  set  along  the  fron 
tiers,  and  the  Puritans  prospered  greatly. 

Then  charges  were  brought  against  Philip.  It 
was  said  that  he  was  willing  to  join  the  French  or 
the  Dutch  against  the  English,  to  recover  the  lands 
which  his  people  had  sold. 

In  April,  1671,  he  was  summoned  to  court  at 
Taunton,  to  answer  these  charges. 

He  took  a  band  of  warriors  with  him,  painted 
and  decorated  with  all  the  trappings  of  barbaric 
splendor,  and  armed  to  the  teeth. 

He  demanded  one-half  of  the  meeting-house  for 
himself  and  his  followers.  The  stern  Pilgrims 

o 
from  Plymouth  sat  on  the  other  side  of  the  house, 

and  they  also  were  armed.  Between  the  two  sat 
commissioners  from  Massachusetts,  who  were  to 
act  as  judges. 

King  Philip  stood  up  with  lofty  composure,  and 
spoke  in  his  own  defense. 

He  denied  all  the  charges.  He  said  he  was 
proud  of  the  alliance  made  by  his  noble  father. 

When  the  Wampanoags  had  fallen  before  the 
plague,  like  grain  before  the  sickle,  the  Narragan- 
setts  had  not  dared  to  attack  them,  because  the 
English  were  their  friends. 

He  pictured  the  weakness  of  his  people,  if  the 
English  should  desert  them. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  189 

i  He  offered  to  surrender  his  arms,  and  defended 
himself  so  well  that  pledges  of  friendship  were 
renewed,  and  he  was  allowed  to  go  his  way. 

Three  years  passed,  and  rumors  came  again  to 
Plymouth  that  the  Indians  were  sharpening  their 
hatchets  and  mending  their  guns  for  the  warpath. 

Perhaps  Philip  had  listened  to  the  cries  for  ven 
geance  from  the  widowed  Weetamoe,  who  dwelt 
across  the  bay  at  Pocasset,  and  was  the  beloved 
sister  of  Philip's  wife. 

Perhaps  he  was  urged  to  war  by  the  young 
warriors,  who  had  learned  the  use  of  the  gun,  and 
longed  for  a  trial  of  skill  with  the  white  men's 
weapons. 

However  this  may  have  been,  charges  of  treach 
ery  were  again  brought  against  Philip. 

When  he  was  summoned  to  court,  he  confessed 
he  had  broken  his  pledges,  but  professed  repent 
ance,  and  surrendered  the  arms  of  some  of  his 
people. 

This  aroused  the  wrath  of  his  warriors,  who  had 
paid  for  their  arms  with  valuable  lands. 

So  they  held  a  great  council  fire,  and  Philip 
was  taunted  with  his  shame.  The  oldest  chief 
pictured  the  glory  of  the  past.  The  youngest 
warrior  painted  the  future,  led  Philip's  only 
child,  a  beautiful  ten-year-old  boy,  into  the  circle. 


190  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

arid  foretold  his  degradation  as  the  white  man's 

slave. 

s\  This  last  was  more  than  the  proud  spirit  of  the 

sachem  could  bear.    He  decided  on  war,  and  began 

to  collect  muskets  from  the  French  and  the  Dutch. 

When  Philip  was  again  summoned  to  Plymouth, 
he  went  instead  to  Boston.  He  was  very  haughty 
now.  He  said  that  if  King  Charles,  of  England, 
would  come  arid  sit  on  his  mat,  he  would  treat 
writh  him  ;  but  he  did  not  owe  obedience  to  the 
governor  of  Plymouth. 

Now,  there  was  a  young  Indian  named  Sausa- 
rnon,  who  had  been  educated  in  the  college  at 
Cambridge,  and  had  taught  school  in  the  praying 
town  of  Natick. 

But  for  some  reason,  Sausarnon  had  gone  back 
to  his  people.  He  was  intelligent  and  pleasing  in 
his  mariners,  and  Philip  made  him  his  private  sec 
retary,  and  learned  to  love  him  and  to  trust  him. 
He  told  Sausarnon  all  about  his  plans  to  unite  the 
Indian  tribes,  and  drive  the  English  back  over  the 
morning  waters  to  the  land  from  which  they  had 
come. 

After  a  time,  Sausamon  repented  his  desertion 
of  the  English.  He  came  back  to  Natick,  pro 
fessed  belief  in  the  Christian  religion,  was  bap 
tized  and  became  a  preacher. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  191 

Then  he  revealed  the  plots  against  the  settle 
ments  of  New  England,  and  very  soon  after  was 
murdered  and  thrown  into  the  river  through  a  hole 
cut  in  the  ice. 

An  Indian  testified  that  he  had  seen  three  of 
Philip's  men  kill  him,  and  had  fled  in  fear  of  his 
own  life. 

The  three  Indians  were  tried  and  convicted  by 
a  jury  of  Indians  and  white  men. 

One  of  the  Indians  afterwards  confessed,  that  he 
had  stood  near,  while  the  other  two  committed  the 
crime.  All  three  were  put  to  death. 

The  Puritans  were  now  greatly  excited  over 
the  conflict  that  was  sure  to  come. 

There  they  were,  shut  in  between  the  cruel  sea 
and  the  still  more  cruel  foes  ;  they  fancied  they 
heard  warnings  of  dread  events  about  to  happen. 
To  their  heated  fancies,  the  whistling  wind  was 
the  sound  of  bullets  whizzing  through  the  air ;  the 
crash  of  a  falling  tree  was  the  roar  of  cannon ; 
rocks  rolling  down  the  mountain  side  was  the  dis 
charge  of  muskets. 

They  said  the  wolves  howled  more  dismally 
than  ever  through  the  trackless  forests  that  skirted 
the  settlements ;  and  they  began  to  think  that  a 
punishment  was  sent  upon  them  for  their  sins. 
Some  dressed  too  gayly  in  ribbons,  others  drank 


192  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

too  much  ale  ;  and  yet  others  thought  perhaps  they 
were  to  suffer  for  their  pride  in  long,  curling  locks  ; 
and  some  even  declared  that  a  judgment  was 
upon  them  for  allowing  the  Quakers  to  dwell  in 
their  midst. 

There  was  fasting  and  praying  and  rubbing  up 
of  rusty  firearms,  through  all  the  colonies  of  New 
England. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  193 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

KING  PHILIP'S  WAR. 

PHILIP  of  the  Wampanoags  sent  swift  messen 
gers  to  summon  his  allies  to  a  council  of  war. 

Some  came  from  the  country  of  the  Nipmunks 
in  central  Massachusetts,  others  from  the  tribes 
which  dwelt  about  the  great  Niagara  Falls,  others 
from  the  far  provinces  of  Maine. 

They  glided  like  swift  shadows  through  the 
trackless  forests,  or  floated  past  the  chain  of  bays 
on  the  east,  rounded  Cape  Cod,  and  steered  their 
barks  into  Narragansett  Bay,  where  the  waters 
were  red  with  the  glare  of  the  signal  fires  on  the 
summit  of  Mount  Hope. 

And  when  all  had  at  last  assembled,  they  were  a 
strange  and  motley  group. 

The  warriors  of  each  tribe  wore  their  own  pecu 
liar  dress,  and  their  faces  were  marked  in  different 
symbols,  so  that  each  was  known  from  the  others. 

Some  were  half  naked,  others  clothed  in  fine 
doeskin  embroidered  with  wampum  and  fringed 
with  moose  hair. 

Weetamoe,  queen  of  Pocasset,  the  widow  of  Al- 


194  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

exander,  was  there  in  garments  of  moose  skin, 
finely  dressed  ;  a  mantle  of  blue  cloth  was  tied  at 
the  shoulders  and  waist,  with  girdles  of  white  and 
blue  wampum  ;  a  tablet  of  copper  wrought  with 
jewels,  shone  on  her  ample  breast  ;  and  with  her 
were  three  hundred  warriors,  fiercer  than  all  the 
others,  in  their  war-paints. 

Those  who  dw^elt  far  from  the  white  men,  had 
their  own  weapons,  the  war  clubs  of  tough,  white 
oak,  the  long  bow  with  arrows  tipped  with  jasper, 
the  hatchets  of  stone,  and  the  spear  of  hardened 
wood. 

Those  who  came  from  near  the  English  settle 
ments,  were  armed  with  sharp,  steel  hatchets. 
Many  had  muskets,  at  which  the  less  fortunate 
braves  gazed  with  envious  eyes. 

When  night  had  fallen,  Philip  took  his  place 
upon  a  stone  near  the  council  fire,  and  row  behind 
row,  in  one  vast  circle,  his  warriors  gathered  around 
him.  His  face  was  painted  in  red  and  black. 
Upon  his  head  he  wore  a  band  of  wampum  in  token 
of  his  kingly  office  ;  a  broad  belt  of  wampum  fell 
from  his  shoulders  to  his  waist  ;  his  mantle  was  of 
feathers,  and  upon  his  breast  was  painted  an  eagle 
with  outstretched  wings. 

A  feast  was  served  on  the  high,  white  cliff  which 
overlooks  the  lovely  bay  of  Narragansett ;  and  meats, 


OF   NEW    ENGLAND.  195 

which  had  long  filled  the  air  with  savory  odors 
during  the  process  of  cooking,  were  passed  around 
in  baskets  by  boys. 

But,  according  to  ancient  custom,  Philip,  the 
chief,  ate  nothing.  He  set  apart,  and  pondered  how 
he  might  best  move  the  hearts  of  his  people.  His 
fiery  eyes  glowed  like  those  of  a  tiger,  though  his 
manner  was  subdued  ;  and  when  the  feast  was 
over,  he  rose  to  his  feet  to  tell  his  warriors  why  he 
had  called  them  together.  His  voice  swelled  to 
majestic  tones,  when  he  recalled  the  ancient  splen 
dor  of  his  race. 

He  pictured  their  vast  domains,  the  deep  forests, 
the  sunny  banks  along  the  winding  rivers,  the 
smiling  bays  skirting  all  the  morning  waters. 
Then,  in  hesitating  accents,  he  bewailed  the  disas 
ters  which  had  befallen  his  people — the  plague, 
the  coming  of  the  white  men,  the  scarcity  of  game, 
the  insults  of  the  English  traders. 

o 

He  said  the  Indians  had  only  sold  the  right  to 
settle  on  the  lands  ;  they  had  not  sold  the  lands  ; 
yet  their  forests  were  cut  down,  and  they,  them 
selves,  would  soon  be  driven  out  like  dogs  from  the 
seats  of  their  fathers. 

The  white  men  had  come  cold  and  hungry  to 
the  Land  of  the  Bays.  They  were  warmed  and 
fed.  They  came  with  no  place  where  their  feet 


196  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

might  rest,  save  on  a  broken  ship.  The  great 
Massasoit  gave  them  shelter  and  broad  lands  ;  and 
now,  the  white  beggars  had  become  princes.  They 
said  to  the  red  men,  "Come  hither/' and  they 
came.  "  Gro  yonder/'  and  they  obeyed  like  slaves. 

The  warriors  were  shutting  themselves  up  in 
praying  towns,  where  they  did  the  work  of  squaws. 
They  whipped  their  boys  into  craven  cowards. 

A  few  more  years,  and  there  would  be  no  more 
warriors  ;  there  would  only  be  slaves. 

He  recalled  the  destruction  of  the  Pequods,  the 
shameful  death  of  Alexander,  the  betrayal  of 
Miantonomo,  the  hanging  of  his  own  devoted  fol 
lowers,  who  were  innocent  of  the  death  of  Sausa- 
mon.  He  said  that  the  great  Spirit  had  painted 
one  people  red  and  the  other  white,  that  He  might 
know  them  apart.  Then  He  had  stretched  the 
wide  salt  water  between  them  to  keep  them  apart 
forever. 

But  the  white  men  had  disobeyed  the  great 
Spirit.  They  had  come  across  the  salt  sea,  and 
brought  plague  and  ruin  with  them.  Then  Phil 
ip's  voice  grew  loud  and  commanding,  as  he  sum 
moned  his  men  to  destroy  the  white  tyrants,  and 
win  back  the  old  hunting-grounds.  As  for  him 
self,  he  would  pursue  the  warpath  as  long  as  any 
man  was  left  to  fight. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  197 

When  the  king  sat  down  there  was  loud  ap 
plause. 

But  some  grizzly  old  warriors,  scarred  by  many 
war  clubs,  urged  delay.  They  said  it  would  take 
many  moons  to  unite  all  the  tribes  on  the  warpath 
to  the  English.  The  praying  towns  must  be  won 
over.  The  Mohawks  and  the  Narragansetts  must 
be  bribed  to  joined  the  league.  More  guns  must 
be  bought  from  the  Dutch  arid  the  French. 

In  the  end,  this  wise  counsel  prevailed,  and  it  was 
decided  to  delay  the  attack  on  the  settlements  un 
til  harvest. 

But  all  the  vast  assembly  declared  for  war  ;  and 
then  the  fires  were  fed  with  pine-knots  for  the 
dance. 

They  whirled  around  in  a  fury  which  waxed 
wilder  every  moment,  until  a  medicine  man  ut 
tered  a  loud,  shrill  cry. 

Then  all  was  silent.  Every  warrior  stood  in  his 
place  like  a  bronze  statue. 

Slowly  a  band  of  powwows  moved  toward  a  forest 
among  the  neighboring  hills.  The  warriors  fol 
lowed  with  noiseless  tread. 

And  in  a  solitary  grove  the  priests  built  a  fire, 
calling  on  the  great  Spirit  of  the  warpath.  One 
by  one  the  warriors  walked  to  the  fire,  and 
threw  their  most  valued  treasures  into  the  sacred 


198  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

flames — a  scalp  lock,  an  otter  skin,  a  wampum 
belt,  a  carved  bow  with  arrows  of  jasper,  a  dress 
of  rare  feathers,  a  string  of  wampum,  each  threw 
in  an  offering  to  appease  the  wrath  of  the  god  of 
war. 

And  so  the  last  step  was  taken.  No  more  an 
swer  to  the  summons  of  white  men  !  War,  bloody 
war,  was  before  all  who  dwelt  in  the  Land  of  the 
Bays. 

From  this  time  forth,  Mount  Hope  was  the  dread 
spot  of  all  New  England.  There  were  sounds  of 
drums  and  shots  in  the  night,  canoes  were  dimly 
outlined  in  the  moonlight,  as  they  glided  past  the 
coasts  ;  and  swift  and  stealthy  messengers  sped  to 
and  from  the  lodge  of  King  Philip. 

The  court  wrote  Philip,  urging  him  to  dismiss 
his  strange  visitors,  but  he  gave  no  reply. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  199 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

KING  PHILIP'S  WAK — (Continued). 

IN  spite  of  their  agreement  at  the  council  fire  at 
Mount  Hope,  some  bands  of  Indians  began  to 
prowl  about  the  English  settlements. 

They  broke  into  houses,  shot  down  cattle,  and 
seemed  determined  to  provoke  the  white  men  into 
shedding  the  first  blood.  At  last  an  Indian,  who 
had  killed  some  cattle,  was  wounded  at  Swanzey. 

This  was  the  signal  for  war.  It  is  said  that 
Philip  wept  when  he  heard  of  it.  He  was  not  yet 
ready  for  war,  and  saw  what  the  end  must  be. 

Swanzey  was  a  town  of  about  forty  families,  and 
the  nearest  to  Mount  Hope.  On  the  twenty-fourth 
of  June,  1675,  as  the  people  were  coming  from 
meeting,  an  Englishman  was  killed,  and  on  the 
following  day  several  were  shot  by  the  Indians. 

Troops  rallied  from  the  Massachusetts  and  Con 
necticut  towns.  The  faithful  Mohegans  hurried  to 
aid  their  white  brothers,  and  the  combined  forces 
marched  to  Mount  Hope. 

Philip  fled  across  the  bay  to  Pocasset,  which  was 
a  vast  marsh,  overgrown  with  hemlocks,  and 


200         THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

choked  by  brambles  and  the  mouldering  trunks 
of  fallen  trees. 

The  English  did  not  dare  to  follow  him  through 
the  deep,  black  mire. 

So  they  built  a  fort,  and  kept  up  a  siege  for  two 
weeks,  hoping  to  starve  him  out  of  his  hiding- 
place. 

But  Philip  passed,  at  length,  on  a  raft,  over  an 
arm  of  the  sea,  and  fled  to  the  west.  He  was  pur 
sued  by  the  troops,  and  lost  thirty  of  his  brave  fol 
lowers. 

With  the  fury  of  despair,  the  chieftain  rallied 
the  Indians  of  Massachusetts  around  him,  and  be 
gan  to  assault  the  English  towns. 

He  moved  swiftly,  now  here,  now  there,  and 
was  said  to  be  attended  by  an  old  witch,  who  as 
sisted  him  by  her  black  charms. 

An  attack  was  made  at  Brookfield,  and  the  peo 
ple  fled  to  the  blockhouse. 

The  Indians  set  fire  to  all  the  houses  of  the  town, 
and  then  began  a  siege  on  the  blockhouse. 

They  tried  in  many  ways  to  set  it  afire.  They 
shot  arrows,  tipped  with  burning  rags,  to  the  roof. 

Then  they  built  a  very  long  scaffold,  with  bar 
rels  for  wheels,  loaded  it  with  hay,  and  pushed  it, 
flaming,  toward  the  building. 

But  a  rain  poured  down,  which  seemed  a  mir- 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  201 

acle  to  the  pallid  men,  women  and  children,  who 
were  fighting  for  their  lives  within  the  fort. 

The  flames  were  quenched  ;  the  bow-strings  were 
stretched  so  that  the  arrows  missed  their  marks ; 
and,  before  affairs  were  in  fighting  shape  again,  a 
a  troop  of  cavalry,  in  command  of  Major  Simon 
Willard,  hurried  to  the  rescue  of  Brookfield,  and 
drove  the  Indians  back,  with  a  heavy  loss. 

At  Deerfield  and  at  Hadley,  the  houses  were  pil 
laged  and  burned.  Men,  women  and  children 
were  put  to  death,  and  scalped  in  the  most  horri 
ble  manner. 

A  company  of  ninety  soldiers,  with  eighteen  wa 
gons,  went  to  Deerfield  to  get  a  large  amount  of 
grain,  which  had  been  left  behind  by  the  fleeing 
citizens. 

They  secured  the  grain,  and  as  they  were  ford 
ing  a  little  stream,  threw  their  arms  into  the  wa 
gons.  In  an  instant  hundreds  of  bullets  and  ar 
rows  came  whizzing  from  the  surrounding  thickets. 

All  the  little  company  were  killed  but  seven, 
and  the  stream  where  they  fell  is  called  Bloody 
Brook  to  this  very  day. 

Before  the  Indians  could  escape,  Captain  Mosely, 
who  was  called  the  Paleface-with-two-heads,  be 
cause  he  hung  his  wig  on  a  bush  while  he  fought, 
arrived  on  the  scene,  with  seventy  militia. 


202        THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

"  Come,  Paleface- with-two-heads,"  they  cried. 
' '  You  seek  Indians  ?  You  want  Indians  ?  Here  are 
Indians  enough  for  you  !  "  And  they  brandished 
aloft  the  scalp-locks  they  had  taken. 

Mosely  stationed  his  men  under  a  shower  of  ar 
rows,  and  began  the  struggle  with  over  a  thousand 
savages.  He  was  beaten  back,  but  was  re-enforced 
by  a  hundred  and  sixty  Mohegan  and  English 
troops,  and,  rallying  his  men,  beat  the  enemy 
back  with  great  loss. 

When  winter  set  in,  and  the  forests  were  no  longer 
a  shelter  for  ambush,  the  fortunes  of  Philip  seemed 
on  the  wane. 

He  called  the  remnant  of  his  forces  together,  and 
sought  aid  of  his  old  enemies,  the  Narragansetts. 

Canonchet  was  now  chief  of  the  Narragansetts. 
He  was  the  son  of  Miantonomo,  whom  the  Mohe- 
gans  had  slain  ;  and  when  he  saw  the  foes  of  his 
father,  set  in  battle  array  by  the  Palefaces,  and 
heard  them  shouting  their  triumphs  over  .the  now 
desperate  Philip,  he  resolved  to  aid  that  unfortu 
nate  king-. 

o 

So  the  warriors  of  Canonchet,  dug  up  the  hatchet, 
painted  their  faces,  and  held  their  war-dance. 

They  built  a  great  fort  in  a  swamp  at  Kingston, 
and  within  its  stout  palisades,  were  five  hundred 


wigwams. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  203 

Here  the  two  chiefs  united  their  forces,  and  plot 
ted  how  they  might  wipe  the  English  from  the 
face  of  the  earth. 

In  the  middle  of  bleak  December,  one  thousand 
soldiers,  under  command  of  Governor  Winslow, 
started  against  the  fort  at  Kingston.  One  night 
they  lay  on  the  ground  without  shelter,  and  the 
next  morning,  stumbled  on  through  snow  three 
feet  deep. 

The  hands  of  many  were  frozen,  but  on  they 
marched. 

When  they  reached  the  fort,  they  found  that  the 
only  entrance  was  over  a  log,  guarded  by  a  block 
house,  from  which  the  Indians  began  to  fire. 

A  few  brave  men  leaped  on  the  log,  and  were 
shot  down  in  an  instant.  Others  took  their  places, 
and  at  last,  with  heavy  loss,  they  reached  the  en 
trance.  Meanwhile,  a  weak  spot  had  been  found 
on  the  other  side  of  the  palisade.  Some  climbed 
on  each  other's  shoulders  and  scaled  the  walls,  and 
so,  from  many  sides,  they  entered  and  began  the 
struggle.  They  fought  till  sunset,  and,  under 
cover  of  u  blinding  snow,  a  few  hundred  warriors 
escaped. 

Then  the  English  set  fire  to  the  wigwams,  and 
all  within  them  perished — warriors,  old  men, 
women  and  children. 


204  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Cries  of  horror  and  rage,  resounded  from  the 
neighboring  forest,  when  those  who  had  escaped 
saw  the  red  flames  leaping  through  the  village  ; 
and,  leaving  more  than  a  thousand  dead  behind,  they 
fled  through  the  night,  to  carry  destruction  to  all 
the  English  settlements. 

Meanwhile,  the  Puritans  grieved  over  the  part 
that  the  praying  Indians  were  taking  in  these  trou 
bles. 

There  had  long  been  reason  to  distrust  the  hon 
esty  of  some.  They  painted  white  wampum  black, 
that  they  might  sell  it  at  double  price  ;  they  tied 
otter  tails  on  raccoon  skins,  and  sold  the  peltry  for 
otter ;  they  shot  tame  turkeys,  and  declared  they 
were  wild  ones. 

It  was  often  said,  that  an  Indian  back-slider  was 
the  very  meanest  Indian  in  the  world.  Because 
some  were  so  false,  the  Puritans  were  inclined  to 
condemn  them  all,  and  said  their  praying  should 
be  spelled  with  an  "  e."  The  dear  old  pastor, 
Eliot,  became  very  unpopular,  because  he  tried  to 
protect  his  Christians  from  punishments  which  he 
thought  undeserved. 

The  noble  man  now  collected  his  bands  together, 
and  exhorted  them  to  hold  true  to  their  faith.  He 
did  not  ask  them  to  take  up  arms  against  their  own 
tribes.  He  said  he  did  not  think  it  riffht  to  ask 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  205 

them  to  do  that.  He  only  urged  them  to  remain 
quietly  in  their  towns. 

But  ties  of  blood  were  stronger  than  those  of 
faith,  and  three  weeks  after  the  first  attack  on 
Swanzey,  one  whole  town  of  two  hundred,  deserted 
to  the  enemy. 

Now,  the  warriors  looked  upon  the  praying  In 
dians  as  spies.  They  had  not  forgotten  how  Sau- 
samon  betrayed  Philip  to  the  English. 

And  so  these  praying  Indians  were  in  ill  repute 
with  both  red  men  and  white  men. 

Some  seemed  to  have  richly  deserved  contempt. 

One,  when  he  had  done  all  the  mischief  he  could, 
delivered  his  father  into  the  hands  of  the  English, 
that  he  might  save  his  own  life. 

Another,  who,  perhaps,  remembered  when  he 
had  been  whipped  in  Puritan  fashion,  and  set  in 
the  stocks  for  misconduct,  wore  a  string  of  white 
fingers  around  his  neck,  which  he  had  cut  from  the 
dead  after  a  battle. 

It  was  no  wonder  that  our  forefathers  were  los 
ing  faith  in  the  Indians. 


206        THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

KING   CANONCHET. 

AFTER  the  awful  defeat  at  Kingston,  the  old  men 
were  weary  of  war,  and  washed  to  make  peace  ; 
but  the  young  braves  said  they  would  not  bow  the 
head  like  an  ox  to  the  English  yoke  ;  they  would 
fight  till  the  last  warrior  had  shot  his  last  arrow. 

Roger  Williams  grieved  over  the  fate  which 
awaited  them.  He  told  the  Narragarisetts  that 
there  were  ten  thousand  more  white  men  who 
could  carry  muskets,  and,  if  all  these  were  slain, 
the  Great  Father  in  England  could  send  ten  thou 
sand  more. 

But  his  former  friends  would  no  longer  listen  to 
counsel,  and  hurried  away  on  their  mission  of  death. 

Philip  himself  fled  to  new  fields  of  slaughter. 
"  We  lose  nothing  but  our  lives,"  he  said,  "  while 
the  white  men  lose  lands,  and  fine  houses,  and  cat 
tle."  He  was  seldom  seen  in  open  battle,  but  hur 
ried  from  chief  to  chief,  exciting  wrath  against  the 
common  foe. 

He  went  even  to  the  hated  Mohawks  on  the  Hud 
son.  It  is  said  that  he  slew  three  Mohawks  with 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  207 

his  own  hand,  and  reporting  that  the  English  had 
slain  them,  urged  vengeance  among  their  kindred. 
But  one  of  his  victims  lived  to  tell  of  his  treachery, 
and  he  was  driven  out  of  the  Mohawk  country. 

In  February,  1676,  Lancaster,  thirty  miles  from 
Boston,  was  attacked  by  a  large  band  of  warriors 
under  Philip. 

Forty-two  persons  fled  to  the  house  of  Mary 
Rowlandson.  The  house  was  set  on  fire,  and 
"Quickly,"  writes  Mrs.  Rowlandson,  "it  was  the 
dolefulest  day  that  ever  mine  eyes  saw.  Some  in 
our  house  were  fighting  for  their  lives ;  others 
wallowing  in  blood ;  the  house  on  fire  over  our 
heads,  and  the  bloody  heathen  ready  to  knock  us 
on  the  head,  if  we  stirred  out.  I  took  my  children 
to  go  forth,  but  the  Indians  shot  so  thick,  that  the 
bullets  rattled  against  the  house  as  if  one  had  thrown 
a  handful  of  stones.  We  had  six  stout  dogs,  but 
not  one  of  them  would  stir.  The  bullets  flying 
thick,  one  went  through  my  side,  and  through  my 
poor  child  in  my  arms." 

All  were  massacred  or  taken  prisoners.  Mrs. 
Rowlandson  and  her  child  were  dragged  away 
from  her  home.  After  many  weary  miles,  they 
went  into  camp  with  the  Indians.  "Down  I  must 
sit  in  the  snow,"  says  the  poor  captive,  "  with  my 
sick  child,  the  picture  of  death  in  my  lap.  Not 


208         THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

the  least  crumb  came  within  our  mouths  from 
Wednesday  night  to  Saturday  night,  except  a  lit 
tle  cold  water.  One  Indian,  and  then  a  second, 
and  then  a  third,  would  come  and  tell  me,  '  Your 
master  will  quickly  knock  your  child  on  the  head.' 
This  was  the  comfort  I  had  from  them — miserable 
comforters  were  they  all." 

The  child  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  snow. 
Mrs.  Rowlandson  became  a  servant  of  Weetamoe, 
queen  of  Pocasset.  Philip  went  often  to  the  lodge 
of  Weetamoe.  He  was  kind  to  the  unhappy  white 
slave,  and  once  hired  her  to  make  a  shirt  for  his 
little  son  ;  another  time  he  asked  her  to  knit  a  cap 
for  the  child. 

It  was  for  the  rights  of  this  bright-eyed  little 
Indian  lad,  that  the  great  chieftain  was  making  war 
upon  the  English  usurpers. 

Canonchet,  chief  of  the  Narragansetts,  aided 
Philip  in  all  his  undertakings.  He  remembered 
that  he  was  the  son  of  Miantonomo.  He  was  wary 
and  vigilant.  His  warriors  knew  all  the  hidden 
paths  which  led  to  the  English,  and  as  spring  came 
on,  and  the  trees  were  clothed  in  leaves,  they 
dressed  themselves  in  green  boughs  above  the 
waists,  and  stealing  upon  the  unsuspecting  towns, 
put  them  to  the  torch. 

The  gold  of  the  buttercups  was  stained   ruby 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  209 

red,  and  the  meadows  were  damp  with  the  blood 
of  their  victims. 

But  as  spring  advanced,  the  fortunes  of  the  In 
dians  began  to  wane. 

They  were  without  food,  and  could  be  traced 
for  miles  through  the  woods,  where  the  earth  was 
torn  up  for  lily  roots  and  grass  roots. 

Unless  corn  was  planted,  they  would  starve  to 
death  before  another  winter  was  over.  So  the  toma 
hawk  was  laid  aside  for  the  hoe,  and  the  warriors 
scattered  about  in  small  bands  to  farm  their  land. 

Canonchet  started,  from  the  bank  of  the  Con 
necticut,  with  thirty  men  to  search  for  seed  corn. 
They  had  passed  through  the  Pequod  country, 
where  they  stopped  at  Sachem's  Plain  to  breathe 
anew  their  vows  of  vengeance,  and  were  in  the 
centre  of  their  own  hunting-grounds,  resting  in 
their  wigwams,  when  an  alarm  of  Oiuanuxl  was 
given.  The  chieftain  sprang  from  his  couch  and 
fled.  He  was  hotly  pursued  by  some  English 
soldiers.  With  the  speed  of  a  deer,  he  ran.  His 
blanket  was  heavy.  He  threw  it  away.  His  sil 
ver-laced  coat  choked  him,  and  he  tore  it  off.  His 
belt  of  wampum  bound  him  about  the  waist  ;  he 
hurled  it  far  from  him,  and  on  he  sped.  If  he 
might  only  cross  yonder  stream,  he  could  lose 
himself  in  the  mazes  of  the  forest  beyond. 


210  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

The  soldiers  knew,  by  the  garments  on  the 
ground,  that  the  fugitive  was  the  great  chief  of 
the  Narragansetts,  and  followed  in  more  eager 
pursuit. 

At  length  his  foot  slipped  on  a  stone  at  the  brink 
of  the  river,  and  he  fell  so  that  his  gun  was  wet. 

His  enemies  were  upon  him,  and  he  made  no  re 
sistance.  He  confessed  that  he  became  "like  a 
rotten  stick — void  of  strength." 

But  pride  did  not  forsake  him.  When  a  beard 
less  young  soldier  questioned  him,  he  said,  with 
lofty  contempt,  "  You  are  a  child.  You  cannot 
understand  matters  of  war.  Let  your  chief  come  : 
him  will  I  answer." 

He  was  offered  freedom  if  he  would  betray 
Philip.  "I  will  fight  it  out  to  the  last  man,"  he 
said,  "  rather  than  become  a  servant  to  the  Eng 
lish."  Condemned  to  death,  he  said,  "I  like  it 
very  well  ;  for  I  shall  die  before  my  heart  is  soft, 
or  I  have  spoken  anything  unworthy  of  myself." 

He  was  shot  on  the  plains  of  Stonington  by 
three  chiefs  who  were  allies  of  the  English. 


OP   NEW   ENGLAND.  211 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

WEETAMOE    AND    ANNAWON. 

DISASTER  came  swiftly  upon  Philip  after  the  death 
of  Canonchet.  Many  deserted  from  his  standard. 

At  last  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  his  own  people 
were  taken,  among  whom  was  his  own  wife,  Woo- 
kanuske,  and  his  only  child,  the  pride  and  joy  of 
his  heart,  for  whose  sake  he  had  fought  against 
such  desperate  odds. 

11  My  heart  is  broken/7  said  Philip,  "  I  am  ready 
to  die."  "With  a  few  faithful  followers  he  returned 
to  Mount  Hope,  where  the  graves  of  his  forefathers 
were. 

Weetamoe  attempted  to  follow  him.  Of  all  her 
three  hundred  braves,  only  twenty-six  were  left, 
and  these  were  pursued  by  the  militia,  and  cut 
down  to  a  man.  The  wretched  queen,  in  crossing 
the  Taunton  on  a  raft,  was  drowned,  and  her  body 
was  washed  ashore. 

She  had  followed  Philip  in  all  his  fortunes, 
breathing  vengeance  upon  the  white  men  for  the 
death  of  her  husband,  Alexander. 

The  ghastly  head  of  the  Indian  queen  was  set 


212  THE   STOftY   OP   THE   INDIANS 

up  on  a  pole  in  Taunton,  and  many  Indian  captives 
wept  when  they  beheld  it  there. 

But  still  Philip  was  defiant,  and  when  one  of  his 
warriors  advised  surrender,  he  struck  him  dead  at 
his  feet. 

Then  a  brother  of  the  slain  warrior  led  Captain 
Church  and  his  men,  through  a  secret  trail,  to 
Mount  Hope.  They  arrived  at  midnight,  and 
rested  on  their  arms. 

At  dawn,  when  the  Indians  saw  the  sentinels, 
they  knew  they  were  betrayed,  and  rushed  from 
their  hiding-places.  As  Philip  ran,  he  was  shot 
through  the  heart  by  an  Indian,  and  fell  forward  in 
the  waters  of  a  marsh.  One  of  his  companions,  a 
surly  old  fellow,  hallooed  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Joo- 
tash  \  Jootash  !  "  It  was  Annawon,  the  great  cap 
tain,  calling  to  his  men  to  fight  hardy,  as  they  fled 
through  the  swamps. 

Philip's  head  was  brought  to  Plymouth  and  set 
up  on  a  pole. 

Some  say  that  Wookarmske  and  her  son  were 
sold  as  slaves,  and  lived,  under  the  lash,  on  a  rice 
plantation  in  Barbadoes.  Others  say  they  were 
put  on  board  a  vessel  in  Boston  Bay,  bound  for  the 
West  Indies.  They  sailed  past  Cape  Cod,  and 
ploughed  through  the  waters  between  Buzzard's 
Bay  and  the  islands  once  under  the  sway  of  Philip. 


AS  PHILIP  RAN,  HE  WAS  SHOT  THROUGH  THE  HEART  BY  AN  INDIAN. 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  213 

As  the  gallant  ship  skirted  the  coast  of  Rhode 
Island,  the  proud  Wookanuske  stood  on  deck  with 
her  boy.  She  gazed  with  wistful  eyes  at  the  high, 
white  flint  rock  of  Mount  Hope,  where  she  so  often 
stood  with  Philip,  and  the  past  rose  up  before  her 
like  some  horrid  dream. 

As  night  came  on,  she  folded  the  boy  to  her 
bosom.  "  Pometicum  beckons  us  to  the  Land  of 
Shadows/7  she  whispered.  "  The  great  Spirit  is 
calling  us  to  the  Happy  Hunting  Grounds  beyond 
the  setting  sun  ;  "  and  silently  and  swiftly  they 
passed  over  the  side  of  the  vessel  into  the  waves 
below. 

If  neither  of  these  stories  be  true,  we  know  there 
was  only  sorrow  and  despair  for  the  heritage  of 
the  grandchild  of  the  great  chief,  Massasoit. 

o  o 

The  aged  Armawon  was  now  sachem  of  the  hos 
tile  Indians. 

He  had  followed  Philip's  fortunes  to  the  last, 
and,  when  his  chief  was  slain,  escaped  from  Mount 
Hope  with  sixty  followers,  and  took  refuge  in  a 
swamp  near  Rehoboth.  Captain  Church  sur 
rounded  the  swamp,  and  kept  up  a  siege  for  sev 
eral  days.  The  soldiers  dared  not  penetrate  the 
gloom  among  the  hemlocks,  where  their  foes  were 
lurking.  Church  suspected  that  food  was  carried 
to  the  fugitives  by  some  hidden  path,  and  set 


214  THE    STORY    OP    THE    INDIANS 

guards  to  watch.  At  last  an  old  Indian  and  his 
daughter  were  seen  paddling  across  Palmer  river. 
They  hid  the  boat  in  the  bushes,  and,  with  heavy 
baskets  on  their  backs,  moved  cautiously  toward 
the  swamp  where  Annawon  was  concealed. 

They  were  arrested,  and  forced  to  confess  that  a 
path  led  to  the  sachem Ts  camp.  Then  Captain 
Church  told  the  Indian  that  he  should  guide  him 
to  the  spot.  u  I  am  your  slave  since  my  life  is  in 
your  hands,"  replied  the  old  man,  and  led  the  sol 
diers  into  the  secret  path.  It  was  a  long  journey. 
Church  suspected  treachery,  and  held  his  gun 
ready  to  fire  upon  the  guide. 

At  last,  the  old  man  led  the  captain  to  the  edge 
of  a  rocky  precipice.  There,  far  below,  he  saw  the 
camp.  There  were  the  bark  huts,  the  blazing  fires 
where  the  meats  were  roasting  on  spits,  the  squaws 
busy  pounding  corn,  the  firearms  near  the  foot  of 
the  rock,  covered  with  mats  to  keep  them  dry. 

Annawon,  with  his  son,  lay  on  the  ground  near 
the  guns,  and  the  other  warriors  were  scattered 
about  at  a  distance,  some  idly  talking,  and  others 
fast  asleep.  Church  noted  well  the  situation,  and 
then  drew  back  to  consult  with  his  captives. 

' '  No  one  could  enter  or  leave  the  swamp  except 
by  the  precipice,"  the  Indians  said. 

Then  it  was  arranged  that  the  old  man  and  his 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  215 

daughter    should    go  in   advance,  and    enter   the 
camp  in  the  usual  way.     Church  and  his  men  fol 
lowed.     They  inarched  in  single  file  down  the  steep 
path,  clutching  at  the  tufts  of  grass  and  roots  of 
shrubs  that  grew  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks. 

It  was  a  moment  of  great  risk.  If  the  old  man 
yonder,  with  the  basket  on  his  back,  should  give 
some  sign  to  the  Indians  below,  all  would  be  lost. 

The  little  band  of  white  men  crept  down  the 
trail,  drawing  nearer,  every  moment,  to  victory  or 
death. 

They  reached  the  bottom.  Church  seized  the 
stack  of  arms  and  covered  the  chief  with  his  gun. 
Annawon  sprang  up,  cried  "  Howan  \  "  and  fell 
back  on  his  couch.  His  son  covered  his  head  in 
the  blankets. 

Without  weapons  they  could  do  nothing.  All 
the  warriors  surrendered. 

"I  have  come  to  eat  supper  with  you/7  said 
Church. 

The  chief  called  the  squaws  to  prepare  a  meal 
for  their  guests.  The  two  leaders  supped  together. 
Then  Church  stationed  guards  about  the  camp,  and 
lay  down  near  the  chief.  But  neither  slept.  The 
moonlight  poured  its  soft  light  upon  the  sleeping 
warriors,  and  spread  a  mantle  of  silver  over  the 
high  cliffs  which  towered  above  the  hemlocks  at 


216  THE    STORY   OF    THti    INDIANS 

their  base.  No  word  was  spoken.  Hours  passed, 
but  still  the  leaders  lay  with  eyes  wide  open. 
Church  thought  he  could  not  make  himself  under 
stood,  and  his  interpreter  was  sound  asleep. 

At  last  Anna  won  arose,  and  silently  left  the 
camp.  He  was  gone  so  long  that  Captain  Church 
grew  frightened,  and  prepared  for  the  worst.  He 
collected  the  arms,  and  lay  down  close  to  the  chiefs 
son,  so  that  arrows  might  not  reach  him  without 
first  passing  over  the  body  of  the  boy. 

But  soon  after,  Anna  won  returned.  He  bore 
a  bundle  in  his  hands,  arid  sat  down  near  the 
captain.  Then  he  unrolled  the  wrappings  of  skin, 
and  showed  the  treasures  of  the  dead  chief,  Philip. 

There  was  a  broad  belt  embroidered  in  the 
shapes  of  birds,  beasts  and  flowers,  with  black  arid 
white  wampurn,  and  a  smaller  belt  edged  with 
moose  hair,  and  finished  with  stars  on  the  ends  ; 
two  glazed  powder  horns,  and  a  red  blanket. 

Annawon  laid  these  things  by  the  side  of  Cap 
tain  Church. 

"  These  you  have  now/'  he  said,  in  good  Eng 
lish.  "  There  is  no  Indian  now  in  all  the  Land  of 
the  Bays  who  is  worthy  to  keep  them.'7 

The  rest  of  the  night  was  spent  in  talking.  The 
old  chief  told  of  the  exploits  of  Philip,  and  of  Mas- 
sasoit,  in  wars  with  other  tribes,  but  was  careful  to 


OP   NEW   ENGLAND.  217 

avoid  all  mention  of  the  troubles  with  the  white 
men. 

The    following*    morning1,  the   whole    band    was 

O  O  7 

taken  to  Taunton,  and  Annawon  was  put  to  death. 
And  thus  King  Philip's  war  came  to  an  end. 

New  England  had  lost  six  hundred  men.  Thir 
teen  towns  were  destroyed,  and  forty  others  had 
been  the  place  of  fire  and  death.  Fair  women  and 
little  children  had  perished,  and  aching  hearts 
were  in  every  home. 

The  remnants  of  the  Indian  tribes  wandered  as 
exiles  to  the  Forth  and  to  the  West,  where,  along 
the  lakes  and  the  great  rivers,  their  great  Algon 
quin  kinsmen  dwelt. 

Many  years  after,  longing  to  behold  their  old 
hunting-grounds,  and  moved  by  a  hate  which 
never  slept,  they  guided  French  war  parties  to  lay 
waste  again  the  fair  fields  of  the  English. 


218  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

CHAPTER  XXXIY. 

THE    CHARTERS. 

WHEN  John  Winthrop  came  to  the  Land  of  the 
Bays,  he  brought  a  charter  of  liberties,  signed  by 
the  king,  which  gave  to  the  Puritans  of  Massachu 
setts  the  right  to  choose  their  own  governor,  and 
make  their  own  laws. 

Then  Roger  Williams,  of  Providence,  went  to 
England  to  secure  a  charter  for  his  colony  of  Prov 
idence. 

And  when  he  returned  with  the  precious  docu 
ment,  he  was  met  at  Seaconk  by  the  exulting  peo 
ple  of  Providence,  and  escorted  across  the  river  in 
a  triumphal  march  of  fourteen  canoes.  The  air 
was  rent  by  the  shouts  of  his  welcome ;  for  now 
the  people,  of  the  future  state  of  Rhode  Island,  were 
permitted  to  govern  themselves. 

Then  the  many  little  towns  of  Connecticut  sent 
delegates  to  Hartford,  to  write  out  a  charter  for 
themselves. 

And  as  they  wanted  to  be  sure  that  this  charter 
might  always  be  their  own,  they  sent  John  Win 
throp,  Jr.,  to  England,  to  secure  approval  from 
the  king. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  219 

He  bore  a  petition  from  the  magistrates,  plead 
ing  the  rights  of  the  people  of  Connecticut  to  the 
land  they  had  bought  from  the  Indians,  or  won 
with  their  blood  in  the  wars  with  the  Pequods. 

Winthrop  first  went  to  the  homes  of  many  no 
bles,  where  he  was  soon  a  welcome  guest.  None 
could  depict  the  beauties  of  the  new  world  better 
than  this  son  of  old  John  Winthrop  of  Boston,  and 
none  could  win  such  sympathy  for  the  settlers,  who 
had  toiled  and  struggled  for  the  rude  homes  in 
the  wilderness. 

He  soon  gained  the  support  of  the  most  power 
ful  men  in  England  for  his  charter,  and  then  went 

o 

to  Charles  II  with  his  petition. 

When  he  showed  a  ring,  which  had  been  given 
to  his  grandfather  by  Charles  I,  Winthrop  so 
moved  the  young  king,  that  he  granted  him  all  he 
wished. 

The  colonies  of  Connecticut  were  united  in  one 
colony,  with  a  vast  tract  of  land,  extending  straight 
from  Narragansett  Bay  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  king  gave  the  province,  as  he  would  have 
given  a  jewel,  to  one  who  had  pleased  him  with 
some  idle  tale. 

Young  Winthrop  bore  the  precious  charter  to 
Hartford,  where  it  was  stowed  away  in  a  box  made 
for  the  purpose. 


220  THE    STORY   OF    THE    INDIANS 

Now,  Wirithrop's  talk  reminded  the  king  that 
England  claimed  the  country  west  of  the  Connect 
icut,  because  of  the  discovery  of  the  Cabots. 

He  gave  it  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York. 
The  young  prince  hastened  to  take  possession  of  his 
rich  province,  and  sent  a  fleet  to  New  Amsterdam. 

The  Dutch  settlers  were  under  the  oppressive 
laws  of  the  West  India  Company,  and  had  long 
looked,  with  wistful  eyes,  at  the  freedom  of  the  Eng 
lish  in  Connecticut,  So  when  the  English  ships 
moored  off  the  Battery,  and  demanded  the  surren 
der  of  the  town,  they  would  not  resist. 

Although  their  governor,  Peter  Stuyvesant,  said 
he  would  die  rather  than  surrender,  and  tore 
the  letter  of  terms  into  pieces,  he  was  compelled 
by  the  burghers  to  put  the  letter  together  again 
and  capitulate.  So  the  English  took  possession  of 
the  town  of  New  Amsterdam.  They  called  it  New 
York,  and  sailed  up  the  Hudson,  and  changed  the 
name  of  Eort  Orange  to  Albany.  Then  the  fleet 
sailed  up  the  Delaware,  and  took  possession  of  the 
country  along  its  shores.  So  the  country  to  the 
west  of  New  England  became  English. 

But  it  proved  to  be  a  sad  day  for  the  liberties  of 
the  colonies,  when  the  royal  family  became  in 
terested  in  real  estate  in  America.  Sir  Edward 
Andros  was  made  governor  of  New  York,  and, 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  221 

one  hot  day  in  July,  crossed  over  Long  Island 
Sound,  with  the  flag  of  England  waving  from  the 
mast,  to  read  his  commission  as  governor  of  Con 
necticut.  As  he  stood  on  the  steps  of  the  Town  Hall 
of  Saybrook,  the  captain  of  the  fort  told  him  to  stop 
reading  the  hateful  document.  Andros  insisted 
that  his  authority  extended  to  the  Connecticut. 

' '  Connecticut  has  her  own  charter,  signed  by 
King  Charles,"  said  the  captain,  "and,  in  the 
name  of  the  king,  leave  off  reading,  or  take  the 
consequences."  And,  pale  with  rage,  the  would- 
be  governor  was  conducted  to  his  ship  by  the  Say- 
brook  militia. 

Then,  while  New  England  was  trying  to  build 
up  new  homes  from  the  ashes  of  King  Philip's  war, 
King  Charles  began  to  wonder  much  over  these 
colonies,  who  had  fought  their  own  battles  with 
the  Indians,  and  had  even  become  so  bold  as  to 
coin  their  own  money.  Besides,  the  Board  of  Trade 
complained  that  ships  from  France  and  Spain 
brought  wares  into  the  harbors  of  New  England 
without  paying  duty  in  any  English  port,  so  Charles 
sent  over  Edward  Randolph,  to  inquire  into  colo 
nial  affairs. 

Now,  Randolph  bore  the  seal  of  the  king,  and 
assumed  the  most  lordly  airs  as  he  went  from  port 
to  port. 


222  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Governor  Leverett,  of  Massachusetts,  received 
him  coldly,  kept  his  peaked  hat  on  in  his  presence, 
and  told  him,  that,  since  the  colonies  had  carried  on 
the  wars  with  the  Indians  without  help  from  Eng 
land,  they  should  be  allowed  to  enjoy  the  lands 
which  had  cost  so  much  sorrow  and  toil. 

Randolph  returned  to  England  with  a  long  story 
of  the  insolence  of  the  colonies,  and  so  prejudiced 
the  king,  that  he  ordered  Parliament  to  revoke  the 
charter  of  Massachusetts.  So  the  king  claimed  the 
country,  just  as  he  would  a  castle  in  England.  All 
titles  to  houses  and  lands  were  swept  away.  If  the 
king  wished,  he  might  turn  the  people  out  of  their 
homes  into  the  streets. 

Charles  died  soon  after  this,  and  his  son,  James 
II,  also  claimed  New  England,  arid  sent  Sir  Ed 
ward  Andros  to  be  governor-in-chief  of  all  the 
Land  of  the  Bays. 

Glittering  in  scarlet  and  lace,  the  new  governor 
sailed  into  Massachusetts  Bay,  with  companies  of 
British  soldiers  to  aid  him. 

He  chose  Boston  as  his  headquarters,  turned 
officers  out,  and  put  in  those  of  his  own  choosing. 
He  put  a  tax  on  imported  goods,  made  the  law, 
that  none  could  be  legally  married  except  by  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  took  the 
old  South  Meeting  House  for  services  of  that  church. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  223 

He  told  the  people  their  land  belonged  to  the 
king,  and  they  must  pay  rent  for  it,  and  when 
they  showed  him  the  deeds  which  the  Indians  had 
given,  he  said  they  were  not  worth  the  scratch  of 
a  bear's  claw. 

When  Andros  thought  he  had  Massachusetts 
well  under  control,  he  proceeded,  at  the  head  of  a 
body  of  troops,  to  demand  the  charter  of  Connect 
icut. 

All  day,  Governor  Treat  pleaded  with  him  to 
leave  them  the  charter  until  they  might  have  a 
hearing  in  England.  But  Andros  remembered 

O  c5 

well  how  he  had  been  sent  off  by  the  Connecticut 
militia  a  few  years  before.  He  was  haughty,  and 
would  listen  to  nothing. 

Night  came  on.  Candles  were  lighted.  A  large 
crowd  gathered  about  the  building,  and  as  many 
pressed  into  the  room  as  could  get  a  standing 
place.  Some  painted  Indians  stood  among  the 
throng,  and  gazed  with  awe  at  the  gold-bedecked 
messenger  from  the  great  king. 

The  charter  lay  with  its  box  on  the  table. 

Andros,  at  length,  in  an  angry  voice,  demanded 
that  the  charter  be  returned  to  its  box  and  de 
livered  to  him. 

Suddenly  the  lights  went  out.  There  was  con 
fusion  and  delay,  much  scraping  of  tinder  ;  many 


224  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

oh's !  and  all's !  some  laughs,  and  some  oaths,  and 
when,  at  last,  light  was  made,  there  was  no  charter 
in  sight.  Guards  were  set  about  the  door,  a  search 
was  made,  but  no  charter  could  be  found. 

It  rested  securely  in  the  hollow  of  an  old  oak- 
tree,  and  there  it  long  remained.  But  Andros 
cared  nothing  about  the  charter  anyway. 

He  adjourned  the  court  with  his  soldiers,  and 
thus  became  governor  of  all  the  royal  province  of 
New  England,  with  his  capital  at  Boston. 

Voting  by  the  ballot  was  forbidden,  town  meet 
ings  were  dispersed.  The  public  schools  were  not 
supported,  and  the  people  began  to  say  that  there 
was  nothing  left  to  disgrace  them  further,  except 
to  sell  them  as  slaves. 

Meantime,  the  Indian  converts,  who  still  lin 
gered  on  the  outskirts  of  Boston,  were  much  per 
plexed  at  this  state  of  affairs.  They  came  to  Rev. 
Eliot,  now  very  old  and  feeble,  to  talk  over  the 
situation.  "  No  red  men  have  ever  obeyed  a  cow 
ard,"  they  said.  "  Your  sachem  is  a  coward  and 
yet  you  obey  him.  Is  this  because  you  are  a 
Christian  ? "  And  the  dear  old  man  bowed  his 
head,  but  gave  no  answer. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  225 


CHAPTER  XXXY. 

THE    ROYAL    GOVERNOR. 

;  GOVERNOR  ANDROS  did  not  find  his  life  at  Bos- 
ton  very  pleasant.  Sullen  faces  greeted  him  in 
the  streets.  "  'Tis  the  least  of  our  thoughts  to 
build  a  house  for  the  king's  governor,"  said  the 
people  ;  and  so  he  repaired  a  fort  for  his  residence. 

Meanwhile,  the  French  of  the  St.  Lawrence  were 
beginning  to  erect  forts  along  the  English  fron 
tiers.  They  gained  such  influence  over  the  In 
dians  that  dwelt  between  New  England  and  New 
France,  that  the  governor  went  to  New  Albany,  to 
make  a  treaty  with  the  Iroquois  who  dwelt  be 
tween  the  Hudson  river  and  the  lakes. 

The  people  of  New  England  watched  all  his  acts 
with  suspicion.  They  said  his  visit  to  New  Al 
bany  was  to  make  peace  with  the  French,  as  well 
as  with  the  Iroquois.  French  war-ships  hovered 
around  the  coast,  and  it  was  rumored,  that  the 
king  intended  to  sell  or  trade  his  American  prov 
inces  to  the  king  of  France. 

When  Governor  Andros  built  some  forts  on  the 
frontier  of  Maine,  and  sent  six  hundred  of  the 


226  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

bravest  militia  in  mid- winter  to  garrison  them,  he 
was  accused  of  wishing  to  be  rid  of  that  many 
soldiers. 

In  the  midst  of  this  unrest,  news  came  of  the  in 
vasion  of  England  by  William  of  Orange.  It  was 
hoped  that  the  oppressive  reign  of  King  James 
would  soon  be  over,  and  bold  measures  were  taken 
against  his  agent,  Andros.  Very  early  on  Thurs 
day,  when  the  weekly  lecture  invited  a  large 
crowd,  the  town  was  active.  Rumor  was  rife  that 
the  whole  town  of  Boston  was  taking  up  arms. 
When  drums  beat  about  nine  o'clock,  several  of 
the  governor's  party  were  seized  and  thrown  into 
jail.  The  fidelity  of  the  jailer  was  questioned,  and 
"Scates,  the  bricklayer,"  was  stationed  in  his 
place.  Scates  was  probably  a  man  of  muscle,  or 
he  would  not  have  been  chosen  for  this  important 
position. 

Then  the  old  magistrates  donned  again  their 
robes  of  office,  and  proceeded  to  the  council  cham 
ber  under  guard.  They  spent  hours  in  busy  de 
liberation,  and  at  length  appeared  in  the  balcony 
of  the  Town  Hall,  before  which  the  masses  gathered 
in  the  street  below.  They  read  a  document  giv 
ing  an  account  of  their  oppressions,  since  the  taking 
away  of  the  charter. 

A  signal  on  Beacon  Hill  had  called  in  com- 


GOV.  ANDROS   SURRENDERED   AND   WAS   THROWN   INTO   PRISON. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  227 

panies  of  soldiers,  and  they  came  hurrying  from 
Duxbury,  Marshfield,  and  all  the  settlements  along 
the  coast.  Soon  several  hundred  soldiers  were  seen 
beyond  Charlestown  Keck,  who  would  cross  at  a  call. 

Governor  Andros  was  summoned  to  give  over 
his  authority.  This  was  a  bold  act  ;  for  who  knew 
whether  the  Prince  of  Orange  would  succeed  in 
his  invasion  of  England  ?  Should  he  fail,  the  peo 
ple  would  be  shown  little  mercy  by  the  tyrant, 
James.  But  the  outraged  citizens  of  Massachu 
setts  were  determined  to  place  their  fortunes  with 
those  of  William  of  Orange. 

Governor  Andros  surrendered,  and  was  thrown 
into  prison.  The  royal  frigate,  in  the  harbor,  was 
dismantled,  that  it  might  not  bear  the  news  away. 

There  is  no  account  but  that  "  Scates,  the  brick 
layer,"  kept  his  king's  men  safe  and  sound  in  the 
common  jail  ;  but  the  keeper  at  the  fort  was  not 
so  vigilant.  Disguised  in  woman's  clothes,  Andros 
nearly  escaped.  He  safely  passed  two  guards,  but 
the  third  noticed  that  the  old  lady's  feet  were  un 
commonly  large,  and  arrested  her  amidst  the  jeers 
of  the  crowds  on  the  street,  among  whom  were 
straggling  groups  of  Indians,  who  joined  the  sport 
over  this  "  squaw-sachem  "  of  the  white  men. 

Every  morning,  the  sea  was  scanned  for  a  ship 
bearing  some  news  of  England's  fate. 


228  THE    STORY   OF   THE    INDIANS 

At  last,  a  royal  ship  arrived  with  orders  to  pro 
claim  William  and  Mary  king  and  queen  of  Eng 
land. 

Never  had  there  been  such  rejoicing  along  the 
bay  as  this.  People  flocked  from  all  the  country, 
in  their  best  clothes,  to  celebrate  the  event.  The 
old  magistrates  were  there  in  official  garb.  Wilful 
Puritan  lasses,  who,  on  this  day  as  on  so  many 
lesser  days,  tried  the  souls  of  our  forefathers  by 
their  flaunting  ribbons,  leaned  out  of  the  windows, 
above  the  streets,  to  toss  the  May  flowers  at  the 
feet  of  the  stately  procession  as  it  passed.  The 
gentry,  from  all  the  towns,  rode  on  horseback 
through  the  thoroughfares  ;  Indians  from  the 
praying  towns,  dressed  in  store  clothes,  with  hair 
cropped  off  in  Puritan  fashion,  mingled  with  the 
throng  ;  the  long  troops  of  horse  and  foot,  the 
busy  sheriff  and  tithing-man,  the  flocks  of  won 
dering  school-boys — all  joined  in  the  long  parade. 

Then  there  was  a  great  dinner  at  the  Town  House 
for  the  people  of  quality,  and,  at  night,  the  streets 
were  filled  with  sounds  of  joy,  until  the  bell  rang 
for  bed  at  nine  o'clock.  Then  the  good  Puritans 
met  around  the  altars  to  thank  Grod  that  He  had 
freed  them  from  the  oppressor. 

Rhode  Island,  with  delegates  at  Newport,  re 
stored  the  government  under  the  charter  •  at 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  229 

Hartford,  the  charter  was  brought  forth  from  its 
hiding-place,  and  the  governor  and  magistrates 
took  their  old  posts  ;  and  a  day  was  set  for  a  gen 
eral  thanksgiving,  in  all  the  colonies  of  New 
England. 


230  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE    WITCHES. 

IT  was  the  royal  pleasure  of  King  William,  to 
allow  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  to  keep  their 
own  charters.  But  a  new  one  was  given  to  Massa 
chusetts,  under  which  the  governor  was  to  be  ap 
pointed  by  the  crown. 

When  the  royal  governor  arrived,  the  coast  was 
being  again  ravaged  by  the  Indians,  who  still 
dwelt  on  the  northern  frontiers. 

In  long  lines  of  canoes,  they  towed  rafts,  filled 
with  pitch,  and  set  them  afire  among  the  English 
shipping,  as  it  lay  at  anchor  in  the  bays. 

Then  they  paddled  swiftly  away,  and  their  mock 
ing  laugh  sounded  far  over  the  waters. 

They  danced  about  the  outskirts  of  the  villages, 
and,  in  the  glare  of  the  burning  buildings,  slaugh 
tered  and  tortured  their  victims  like  the  very  imps 
of  darkness. 

But  just  at  this  very  time,  there  were  worse  imps 
than  Indians  within  the  little  Puritan  towns.  A  few 
years  before,  many  witches  had  been  burned  at 
the  stake  in  old  England,  and,  some  way  or  other, 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  231 

witches  had  come  across  the  sea ;  whether  on  the 
broomstick,  or  in  the  hold  of  some  ship,  where  no 
morning  prayers  were  said,  no  one  seemed  to  know. 
However  they  came,  there  they  were,  in  the  good 
old  Puritan  towns.  Cotton  Mather,  of  Boston,  said 
so,  and  he  was  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  his 
time.  Samuel  Parvis,  of  Danvers,  said  so,  and  who 
preached  longer  sermons  than  Samuel  Parvis  ? 
Sir  William  Phipps,  the  royal  governor,  said  so, 
and  he  represented  the  king. 

A  daughter  of  a  mason,  in  Boston,  had  a  quarrel 
with  a  washerwoman  over  some  clothes,  arid  "cried 
out  upon  her  "  that  she  had  bewitched  her.  The 
girl's  influence  over  the  younger  children  of  the 
family  was  such,  that  she  soon  had  them  acting  as 
if  they  were  bewitched.  The  little  four-year-old 
added  her  piping  voice,  when  they  all  mewed  like 
kittens,  or  barked  like  dogs,  or  neighed  like  horses. 
They  crawled  on  all-fours,  tried  to  climb  the  walls, 
and  then  sprang  out  of  the  house,  and  ran  away 
like  young  colts  under  the  lash  of  some  invisible 
master.  Sometimes  they  could  not  see,  and  stum 
bled  blindly  over  the  chairs,  hurting  themselves 
badly ;  sometimes  they  could  not  hear,  and  stood 
stupidly  about  when  they  were  asked  questions. 
The  hearing  was  always  lost  when  prayers  were 
said,  and  the  seeing  when  the  catechism  was  to  be 


232  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

read.  They  whistled  and  screamed  at  prayers. 
What  could  it  mean,  but  that  the  children  were 
bewitched  ? 

There  was,  happily,  a  release  from  their  mis 
eries  at  bedtime,  and  all  night  long  nature  built 
up  their  little  bodies  for  the  tortures  of  the  next 
day. 

Ministers  of  Boston  met  to  fast  and  pray,  to  de 
liver  the  children  from  the  black  charms.  The 
wretched  washerwoman,  who  talked  fast  and  long 
in  her  broken  Irish,  made  things  worse  and  worse, 
in  her  efforts  to  right  them.  Some  one  testified, 
that  some  one  had  said,  that  she  had  been  seen  by 
some  one  else,  to  fly  down  a  chimney.  She  was  asked 
to  give  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  English,  but  as  she  had 
only  learned  it  in  Latin,  and  very  badly  at  that,  she 
was  unable  to  do  so.  In  the  end,  the  helpless  woman 
was  convicted  of  witchcraft,  and  hanged. 

Cotton  Mather  was  at  this  time  almost  a  boy, 
just  out  of  college.  He  became  convinced  that 
Satan  had  found  out  the  refuge  of  Puritans,  and 
crossed  in  the  hold  of  some  of  the  ships.  He  felt 
it  his  duty  to  drive  him  out,  hoof  and  horns,  from 
this  chosen  Land  of  the  Bays. 

Other  children  were  seized  with  a  nervous  desire 
to  be  under  the  witches,  arid  under  the  witches 
they  soon  seemed  to  be.  Things  got  worse  and 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  233 

worse.  Services  in  the  church,  were  interrupted  by 
the  cries  of  the  children.  In  spite  of  the  tithing- 
man,  Arm  Putnam  cried  out  in  service,  "  There  is 
a  yellow  bird  sitting  on  the  minister's  hat." 

Physicians  declared  that  the  children  were  well, 
and  that  it  must  be  the  work  of  witches.  There 
was  fasting  and  prayer. 

At  last  it  seemed  certain,  that  three  old  women 
of  Salem  were  the  agents  of  the  evil  one.  Tituba, 
who  was  a  half  Indian  and  half  negro  slave  from 
Barbados,  confessed  herself  a  witch. 

Perhaps  she  was  so  excited,  that  she  really 
thought  she  was.  And  so  the  fight  about  witch 
craft  increased,  until  a  hundred  wizards  and  witches 
lay  in  jail  awaiting  their  trials. 

One.  who  was  condemned  to  die,  merely  looked 
at  the  meeting-house  in  Salem,  as  she  was  on  her 
way  to  the  scaffold,  and  it  was  said  that  straight 
way  a  demon  tore  down  a  part  of  it.  But  others 
thought  that  some  planks  in  the  meeting-house  had 
given  way,  from  the  great  pressure  of  the  crowds, 
which  stood  gaping  at  the  unhappy  woman  as  she 
passed. 

Many  were  so  distressed,  that  they  began  to  be 
lieve  themselves  witches,  and  confessed  to  riding  on 
sticks  through  the  air,  and  changing  themselves  into 
animals  at  night,  to  prey  upon  their  neighbors'  cattle. 


234        THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

Twenty  people  were  hanged  on  a  high  hill  on  the 
outskirts  of  Salem,  fifty  obtained  pardon  by  con 
fessing,  and  hundreds  were  accused  and  suspected 
of  witchcraft. 

Whispers  went  about,  that  men  and  women  in 
high  places  were  guilty.  Lady  Phipps,  the  gov 
ernor's  wife,  was  under  suspicion  of  being  a  witch  ; 
several  officials  of  state  were  accused  of  using  the 
black  arts. 

At  length,  some  confessions  were  proven  so  false, 
that  reason  began  to  return.  The  fraud,  started 
by  young  girls,  ended.  Many,  who  had  helped 
to  put  to  death  innocent  people,  had  a  troubled  con 
science  as  long  as  they  lived. 

But,  after  all  is  said,  they  had  only  followed  the 
written  law  in  England,  which  called  witchcraft  a 
crime  punishable  with  death.  If  the  older  coun 
tries  across  the  sea  believed  in  witches  at  this  time, 
perhaps  we  should  not  expect  the  Puritans  to  know 
any  better.  They  were  surrounded  by  a  vast  wil 
derness,  and  did  not  understand  the  strange  sights 
and  sounds  about  them.  The  awful  storms,  the 
strange  lights  in  the  northern  sky,  the  falling  of 
forest  trees,  made  them  nervous  and  anxious,  all 
the  time.  Yet,  if  the  white  men  were  so  easily 
deceived  in  this  new  world,  how  can  we  wonder  at 
the  delusions  of  the  red  man  ?  They  had  always 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  235 

believed  in  witches,  and  now  the  praying  towns 
seemed  for  a  time  to  return  to  their  old  heathen 
customs.  The  neglected  powwows  were  again  con 
sulted,  to  drive  out  the  witches.  They  built  sacred 
fires  with  their  pine-knots,  and  threw  beads,  and 
knives,  and  hatchets,  and  skins  of  snakes,  into  the 
flames,  and,  last  of  all,  they  threw  in  the  dusky 
witches.  It  must  have  seemed  like  old  savage 
times  to  these  "  praying  Indians,"  as  they  danced 
and  shouted  about  their  victims  in  the  fire. 


236         THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

ON    THE    FRENCH    FRONTIERS. 

THE  towns,  on  the  frontiers  of  Maine  and  New 
Hampshire,  suffered  constant  attacks  from  the  In 
dians. 

At  Dover,  there  were  five  garrison  houses,  in 
one  of  which  was  Major  Waldron.  He  had  taken 
four  hundred  Indian  prisoners,  at  the  close  of 
King  Philip's  war,  by  the  stratagem  of  a  sham 
battle. 

When  the  muskets  of  the  Indians  had  been  dis 
charged,  he  surrounded  the  warriors  with  his  men, 
made  them  give  up  their  arms,  and  sorted  out 
about  two  hundred,  who  were  sent  to  Boston,  to  be 
sold  as  slaves  in  the  West  Indies. 

It  was  now  time,  after  thirteen  years,  to  seek  re 
venge  for  this  deed  of  the  white  men.  Indian 
women  came  to  Dover,  to  be^f  for  lodging1,  during 

O  o        o  *  o 

one  bitter  cold  night.  Then,  when  all  within  were 
asleep,  the  squaws  rose  from  their  pallets,  un 
barred  the  doors,  and  whistled  to  the  dusky  sav 
ages  who  lurked  among  the  bushes. 

As  they  crept  stealthily  forward,  a  dog  in  one 


MAJ.  WALDRON   SPRANG   FROM   HIS   BED   AND   DROVE    HIS   FOES 
BEFORE    HIM   WITH   HIS    SWORD. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  237 

house  barked,  and  the  inmates  seized  their  arms, 
and  defended  themselves,  but  two  houses  were 
burned,  and  two  were  captured.  In  one  of  those 
captured,  was  Major  Waldron. 

He  was  eighty  years  old,  but  still  strong  and 
vigorous.  He  sprang  from  his  bed,  and  drove  his 
foes  before  him  with  his  sword.  As  he  turned 
for  his  musket,  one  of  the  Indians  struck  him  on 
the  back  of  the  head. 

He  was  tied  to  a  chair  and  horribly  tortured. 
As  each  Indian  cut  with  a  knife,  he  cried  out,  "  I 
thus  cross  out  my  account." 

Twenty-three  white  people  were  killed  in  Dover. 
Twenty-nine  were  taken  prisoners.  Some  were 
adopted  by  the  Indians.  Their  hair  was  plucked 
from  their  heads,  except  the  scalp-lock,  then  they 
were  soused  in  a  brook  to  rinse  out  the  white 
blood,  dressed  in  skins,  and  taken  to  a  lodge,  to 
fill  the  place  of  some  who  had  died.  Some  of  the 
captives  were  sold  to  the  French  in  Canada,  as 
slaves. 

Among  those  taken,  was  Sarah  Garrish,  a  beau 
tiful  child,  seven  years  old,  the  granddaughter  of 
Major  Waldron. 

She  had  many  adventures  on  her  way  to  Canada. 

Once  her  master  told  her  to  stand  against  a  tree  ; 
then  charged  his  gun  as  if  to  shoot  her. 


238         THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

Another  time  a  squaw  pushed  her  into  the  river. 
Sarah  caught  some  bushes  overhanging  the  bank, 
and  pulled  herself  out  of  the  water,  but  she  did 
not  dare  to  tell  of  what  had  happened. 

One  morning,  very  early,  the  camp  went  on  their 
way,  leaving  her  fast  asleep  in  the  snow.  She  was 
in  a  deep  forest,  where  she  could  hear  the  cries  of 
wild  beasts.  She  knew  she  could  riot  find  her  way 
back  to  the  English  settlements,  and  so  she  rose 
from  her  bed  of  snow,  and  ran  in  the  tracks  of  the 
Indians,  until  she  overtook  them. 

The  young  Indians  were  always  frightening  her, 
and  told  her  she  was  soon  to  be  burned  to-  death. 

One  evening  a  large  fire  was  built.  The  Indian 
boys  and  girls  threw  on  the  pine-knots,  and  ran 
about  shouting  in  high  glee,  as  if  they  had  heard 
a  very  good  piece  of  news. 

When  the  flames  were  very  high,  Sarah's  mas 
ter  called  her  to  him,  and  told  her  she  was  to  be 
burned. 

The  poor  child  threw  her  arms  about  the  war 
rior's  neck,  and  pleaded  so  hard  for  her  life,  that  his 
heart  was  touched,  and  a  few  months  afterward,  she 
was  restored  to  her  parents.  The  war  with  the 
Indians  of  the  frontiers  continued  for  several 
months.  It  was  very  evident  that  the  French  were 
urging  the  Indians  to  their  attacks,  and  doing  all 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  239 

they  could  to  draw  away  the  trade  in  codfish  and 
furs,  alonof  the  Penobscot  and  Connecticut  rivers. 

o 

At  last,  the  French  governor,  Frontenac,  sent 
out  two  hundred  French  and  Indian  troops  to  at 
tack  Schenectady,  a  town  of  about  five  hundred 
inhabitants,  twenty  miles  from  Albany.  It  was 
winter.  The  snow  lay  deep  on  the  ground.  The 
little  army  traveled  on  snow-shoes.  They  threaded 
the  forests  guided  by  frozen  rivers,  and  slept  at 
night  on  pine  branches. 

Some  one  in  Schenectady  said  that  the  gates 
should  be  guarded  that  night,  but  as  the  inhabi 
tants  looked  out  over  the  vast  fields  of  snow,  they 
laughed  at  the  idea  of  any  approach,  set  up  snow 
images  for  sentinels,  and  retired  within  their  warm 
homes  to  sleep. 

The  party  of  French  and  Indians  arrived,  and 
ran  swiftly  in  at  the  unguarded  gates.  The  slaugh 
ter  was  terrible. 

A  few  escaped  through  the  deep  snow  to  Albany. 
Those  not  killed  were  carried  away  captive,  and 
the  glare  of  burning  buildings  lighted  their  path 
way  for  many  weary  miles,  as  they  were  driven  on, 
loaded  with  the  plunder  of  their  own  homes. 

At  Haverhill  two  boys  were  at  work  in  the  fields. 
Their  names  were  Isaac  Bradley  and  Joseph  Whit- 
taker. 


240  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

They  were  hoeing  the  corn  when  the  Indians 
sprang"  from  the  woods  and  carried  them  off. 
Isaac  was  quick  to  learn,  and  soon  understood  all 
the  Indians  said,  though  he  did  not  let  them  know 
this. 

He  heard  they  were  soon  to  be  sold  to  the 
French.  He  determined  to  escape.  One  night, 
when  all  the  Indians  lay  sound  asleep  around  the 
camp-fires,  he  awakened  Joseph  by  pinching  him 
softly  on  the  ear.  He  motioned  for  him  to  follow, 
and  then  stole  silently  over  the  bodies  of  the  sleep 
ing  men. 

They  wandered  through  deep  forests,  and  just 
as  they  were  thinking  they  had  escaped,  they 
heard  the  shouts  of  the  Indians  in  pursuit.  They 
crawled  into  a  great,  hollow  log.  A  dog,  running 
ahead  of  the  Indians,  traced  them  to  the  log,  and 
they  threw  him  a  piece  of  dried  meat  to  keep  him 
quiet.  They  hardly  breathed  as  the  footsteps 
drew  nearer.  But  the  Indians  passed  on. 

The  two  boys  traveled  by  night,  and  hid  by  day. 
They  dug  roots  for  food,  and,  after  six  days  of 
weary  march,  came  suddenly  upon  an  Indian  camp. 
They  were  greatly  frightened  at  this,  but  man 
aged  to  steal  away  before  they  were  seen.  On 
they  wandered,  until  Joseph  could  walk  no  far 
ther,  and  lay  on  the  ground  to  die.  Isaac  lifted 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  241 

him  up  in  his  arms,  and  staggered  on.  He  was 
just  ready  to  fall  under  his  burden,  when  he  struck 
a  path  which  led  to  a  white  trapper's  cabin.  Both 
boys  were  soon  restored  with  food,  and,  after  many 
long  months,  reached  their  own  homes  in  Haverhill. 

It  was  very  evident  that  the  French  were  urg 
ing  the  Indians  to  warfare. 

The  attacks  on  the  frontiers  of  the  North  contin 
ued,  until  the  alarm  spread  throughout  all  New 
England.  Troops  were  raised  for  land  and  sea,  to 
make  war  on  the  French. 

A  fleet  of  ships  conquered  Port  Royal  in  Aca- 
dia.  Then  thirty-two  vessels  sailed  up  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  conquer  Quebec.  But  storms  came 
on.  Snow  fell  continually.  The  rocks  in  the 
river  were  dangerous  for  vessels  in  charge  of  un 
skilled  pilots.  So  the  fleet  turned  about  for  home. 
A  high  gale  struck  the  prows.  One  vessel  was 
wrecked  ;  others  foundered  out  in  the  open  sea, 
and  others  sped  away  to  the  West  Indies  at  the 
bidding  of  the  hurricane. 

Over  two  hundred  men  were  lost,  and  again  the 
coast  was  clear  for  the  French  to  ravage  the  mer 
chant  ships  along  the  English  bays. 

Then  peace  was  made  between  England  and 
France.  But  four  years  later  war  broke  out 
again. 


242  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Another  fleet,  with  more  than  seven  thousand 
troops,  sailed  out  of  Boston  Harbor  in  July,  1711, 
to  conquer  Quebec.  The  vessels  lost  their  way  in 
the  thick  fog  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Ten  ships 
drifted  against  ledges  of  rocks,  and  went  to  pieces. 
A  thousand  soldiers  were  drowned. 

Soon  after  this,  another  treaty  of  peace  was  made 
between  England  and  France.  Acadia  became  the 
English  province  of  Nova  Scotia  by  this  treaty  ; 
yet  so  great  had  been  the  destruction  of  the  war, 
that  more  than  one  hundred  miles  of  the  sea-coast 
of  Maine  had  not  a  single  English  settlement,  and 
the  canoes  of  the  red  men  sped  undisturbed  among 
its  many  bays. 

But  the  busy  New  Englanders  built  ships  and 
wharves,  put  in  factories  and  mills,  and  extended 
their  commerce  more  and  more.  Towns  sprang 
up  again  on  the  coasts  of  Maine  and  New  Hamp 
shire.  For  twenty  years  there  was  peace. 

Then  war  broke  out  again  with  France,  called 
King  George's  War,  because  George  II  was  king 
in  England,  and  again  the  descendants  of  King 
Philip's  warriors  were  called  to  their  bloody  work 
by  the  French.  They  attacked  the  English  settlers 
on  all  the  frontiers  of  the  North. 

Ft.  Louisburg,  on  Cape  Breton  Island,  was  the 
chief  stronghold  of  the  French.  The  wide  harbor, 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  243 

beneath  its  walls,  was  the  safe  retreat  for  privateers, 
who  plundered  the  merchant  ships  of  New  Eng 
land.  The  people  said  they  should  lay  their  heads 
together  to  capture  this  fort,  or  they  would  soon 
not  be  able  to  carry  on  any  commerce. 

Connecticut,  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island 
sent  men  and  ships  to  Boston  Harbor,  and  soon 
one  hundred  vessels  set  their  sails  for  Louisburg. 
It  was  a  great  fleet.  The  red  men  crouched  be 
hind  the  rocks  on  the  shore,  and  watched  it  disap 
pear  in  the  distance.  They  feared  for  the  fate  of 
their  allies-,  and  well  they  might. 

After  a  siege  of  seven  weeks,  the  great  fortress 
surrendered,  with  all  its  cannon,  and  two  thousand 
men. 

There  was  joy  in  the  colonies  over  this  victory, 
which  seemed  to  promise  that  the  cruel  wars  would 
soon  be  over. 

Boston  Harbor  was  gay  with  ships  flying  their 
colors,  and  the  batteries  kept  up  a  loud  booming 
of  guns.  In  the  evening  there  was  a  bonfire  on 

O  c5 

Boston  Common,  and  curious  fireworks  were 
thrown  up.  In  all  New  England  there  was  re 
joicing  and  festivities  over  the  victory  of  Louis- 
burg. 


244  THE  STORY  OF  THE   INDIANS 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

PIRATES. 

WHILE  the  canoes  of  red  savages  clung  to  the 
coast,  the  ships  of  white  outlaws  scoured  the  high 
seas. 

From  the  time  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  pirates  had 
infested  the  coasts  of  America. 

There  was  an  ideal  cove  in  Tortuga,  where  a  law 
less  crew  hid  their  plunder,  and  darted  out  to  sea 
like  sharks,  to  rob  the  passing  ships.  Their  dress 
was  a  shirt  and  trousers,  dipped  in  the  blood  of 
animals  they  killed.  They  wore  shoes  without 
stockings,  a  hat  without  a  brim,  and  a  leather  gir 
dle,  from  which  hung  a  knife.  Their  vessels  were 
boats  made  from  the  trunks  of  trees. 

They  were  called  buccaneers,  from  the  way  they 
roasted  an  ox.  And  soon  the  name  buccaneer  was 
given  to  all  who  followed  after  their  evil  ways. 

When  there  were  no  Spanish  galleons  in  sight, 
they  plundered  ships,  loaded  with  cotton,  sugar, 
tobacco  and  rice,  from  the  West  Indies,  and  sold 
these  cargoes  for  round  Spanish  dollars. 

A  cargo  of  dried  cod,  a  few  hundred  packs  of 


OF   NEW    ENGLAND.  245 

beaver  and  mink  skins,  or  a  load  of  ship-timber, 
found  ready  sale  in  the  seaports  of  Europe ;  and 
so  the  colonial  ships  were ,  much  sought  by  the 
buccaneers. 

Many  stories  are  told  of  their  revels. 

Once  some  buccaneers  captured  a  vessel,  laden 
with  horses,  from  Rhode  Island.  They  went  on 
board,  made  a  raid  on  the  larder,  arid,  when  well 
heated  with  rum,  led  the  horses  on  deck,  mounted 
and  rode  backwards  and  forwards,  shouting  and 
lashing,  until  the  animals  careered  about  with  such 
frenzy  that  two  or  three  of  the  madmen  were 
thrown  from  their  backs. 

Then  they  leaped  up  in  a  rage,  and  fell  upon  the 
crew  with  their  sabres,  declaring  they  deserved 
death  for  not  bringing  boots  and  spurs,  without 
which  no  man  might  be  expected  to  ride  well. 

At  one  time,  all  the  coast  of  New  England  was 
under  the  sway  of  Blackbeard. 

This  noted  pirate  received  his  name  from  the 
long,  black  beard  which  he  twisted  with  ribbons 
into  small  black  tails,  and  turned  about  his  ears. 

He  usually  appeared  with  three  brace  of  pistols 
hanging  to  a  scarf  on  his  shoulders,  and  at  night 
stuck  lighted  matches  under  his  hat,  which,  with 
his  fierce  black  eyes,  gave  him  a  very  wild  aspect, 
indeed. 


24G  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

The  very  mention  of  Blackbeard  kept  many  a 
little  New  Eri^lander  wide  awake  for  hours  in  the 


His  men  landed  at  any  of  the  ports  they  wished  ; 
they  swaggered  through  the  streets,  picking  quar 
rels  with  the  people,  and  none  dared  to  seize  them, 
for  fear  of  endangering  the  town. 

Ships  from  Boston  were  scuttled ;  sloops  from 
Connecticut,  bearing  cattle  and  sheep,  were  board 
ed  ;  scows  from  Rhode  Island  were  towed  away 
to  South  American  markets. 

Captain  Blackbeard  was  no  respecter  of  flags, 
and  plundered  all  ships  alike.  He  seemed  to  like 
one  nation  about  as  well  as  another,  and  chose  in 
lets  along  all  coasts,  where  he  pitched  his  tents  and 
repaired  his  ships. 

11  Come  down  into  the  hold,  my  merry  men,  and 
we'll  have  a  little  fire  and  brimstone  of  our  own," 
he  once  cried,  when  no  sail  was  in  sight,  and  time 
hung  heavily  on  his  hands. 

With  hatches  shut  down,  this  jolly  captain  lighted 
some  pots  of  brimstone. 

His  own  lungs  were  like  leather,  and  he  drank 
in  the  fumes  of  the  sulphur,  as  if  they  were  the 
dainty  breath  of  a  rose  ;  and  if  any  of  his  unfortu 
nate  mates  fell  to  coughing  or  sneezing,  they  were 
straightway  rapped  on  the  head. 


THE  PIRATES. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  247 

Sneezing,  coughing  and  howling  with  pain,  the 
crew  rushed  at  last  for  the  hatchway ;  but  there 
stood  the  captain,  with  a  brace  of  pistols  in  each 
hand,  and  shot  them  down  without  respect  to  per 
sons. 

Another  amusement  of  this  jolly  pirate  was  to 
make  his  prisoners  walk  a  plank  stuck  out  over 
the  side  of  the  vessel.  Since  nothing  but  death 
awaited  them  at  either  end  of  the  plank,  they  al 
ways  chose  the  mercy  of  the  waves. 

Most  of  Blackbeard's  time  was  put  in,  cruising 
between  Jamaica  and  the  colonies. 

At  last,  he  met  his  fate  in  the  person  of  an  Eng 
lish  officer,  who,  after  a  fierce  fight,  seized  the 
captain  and  his  crew,  and  sailed  into  harbor  with 
the  head  of  Blackbeard  nailed  to  the  bowsprit. 

Then  there  was  Captain  Tew,  of  New  York,  who 
won  a  fortune  on  the  sea,  and  then  retired  to  Rhode 
Island,  to  live  in  princely  style  off  his  plunder,  till 
the  old  fever  came  on  again,  and  he  was  shot  in  a 
sea-fight. 

And  there  was  Captain  Avery,  who  robbed 
Moorish  ships,  and  hid  his  booty  in  Boston.  Then, 
for  safer  keeping,  he  took  his  gold  and  silver  plate 
to  England,  and,  being  discovered,  never  dared  to 
claim  the  treasure  from  the  deposit  vaults. 

And  there  was  Captain  Low,  who  took  delight 


248  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

in  the  torture  of  his  merchant  captives.  He  hated 
all  men  in  New  England,  and  seizing  the  crew  of 
a  merchant  ship  of  New  York,  tortured  them  with 
burning  matches,  tied  between  their  fingers. 

He  whipped  the  naked  crew  of  a  whaling  vessel, 
off  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  made  the  master  eat  his 
own  ears,  with  pepper  and  salt. 

Besides  the  buccaneering  off  the  coast  of  New 
England,  the  wars  between  New  England  and  New 
France  caused  much  privateering.  Now,  priva 
teering  was  thought  to  be  only  a  war  on  the  sea. 
To  capture  and  plunder  each  other's  vessels,  and 
take  the  crews  prisoners,  was  a  good  way  to  weaken 
the  enemy. 

Once  a  fleet  of  seven  sail  of  French  privateers, 
ran  down  from  Louisburg,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  captured  Nantucket,  Martha's  Yine- 
yard,  and  Block  Island,  and  lay  in  wait  for  Eng 
lish  ships. 

The  harbor  of  Newport  was  a  favorite  resort  for 
them  in  winter.  The  white  savages  seemed  worse 
than  the  red  ones,  and  kept  the  ^  country  in  a  state 
of  constant  terror.  Many  settlers  took  what  they 
had  in  Hartford,  and  the  towns  along  the  coast,  and 
sought  homes  out  of  reach  of  the  sea  rovers. 

Rhode  Island  prepared  to  defend  her  commerce. 
Seven  high  watch-towers  were  erected  ;  heavy  guns 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  249 

were  placed  on  Block  Island.  Then  many  English 
privateering  vessels  were  fitted  up  in  New  England. 

But,  strange  to  say,  it  very  often  happened  that 
when  a  merchant  put  cannon  at  his  loopholes,  re 
ceived  a  commission  from  his  governor  to  capture 
the  French  vessels,  and  sailed  away,  breathing  ven 
geance  on  the  pirates,  and  promising  to  bring  back 
the  head  of  the  last  one  of  them,  he  also  turned 
pirate  himself,  and  was  soon  off  in  the  Spanish 
Main,  coasting  for  any  ship  that  might  bring  plun 
der.  This  turning  of  privateers  into  pirates  be 
came  notorious ;  and,  what  seemed  worse  yet,  the 
fisherfolk  along  the  coast  were  tempted  to  harbor 
these  English  pirates,  and  divide  the  spoils  with 
them.  At  first  they  did  this  with  a  very  good  con 
science.  They  said  the  French  were  enemies,  and 
it  was  the  duty  of  patriotic  citizens  to  impoverish 
the  French. 

But  when  the  cargoes  were  bales  of  raw  silk, 
and  chests  of  opium,  jewels  and  perfumes  from  In 
dia,  they  learned  to  ask  no  questions  about  what 
ships  had  been  seized. 

Now,  all  this  plundering  raised  a  great  scandal 
among  the  staid  Puritans  of  New  England. 

And  when  King  William  heard  of  it,  he  said 
it  was  a  disgrace  to  his  colonies,  and  must  be 
stopped. 


250  THE   STORY   OF   THE   INDIANS 

So  proclamations  were  published  by  drum-beats 
through  every  town,  requiring  officers  to  arrest 
suspected  pirates,  and  warning  people  not  to  har 
bor  any  such,  on  pain  of  punishment. 

Then  the  New  England  governors  looked  about 
for  a  man  who  could  best  make  war  on  English 
privateers  who  had  turned  pirates,  and  Captain 
Kidd  seemed  the  very  best  man  they  could  find. 

He  had  been  commander  of  a  merchant  vessel 
sailing  between  New  York  and  London.  He  was 
celebrated  for  his  skill,  and  knew  most  of  the  men 
who  were  rovers  of  the  sea. 

So  Captain  Kidd  was  put  in  command  of  the 
Adventure,  a  cruiser  with  thirty  guns,  and  set  sail 
from  Plymouth,  under  the  great  seal  of  the  admiral. 

"  Ho,  for  the  pirates  !  "  was  the  song  at  the  wheel, 
as  the  crew  sailed  out  of  Plymouth  harbor. 

Kidd  cruised  around  for  a  year,  and,  not  finding 
any  privateers  worth  running  down,  set  his  sails 
for  the  Red  Sea,  and  turned  pirate  himself. 

He  plundered  Moorish  ships  off  the  coast  of 
Madagascar,  and  ravaged  the  Indian  Ocean,  from 
the  Red  Sea  to  Malabar.  Then  he  returned  to 
Rhode  Island,  to  store  away  his  treasures.  For 
many  years  he  preyed  on  the  commerce  of  all  na 
tions,  and  hid  his  plunder  on  the  islands  of  Nar- 
ragansett  Bay. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  251 

He  used  to  hide  himself  and  his  vessel  among 
the  curious  rocks  in  Sachem  Head  Harbor,  and 
there,  to  this  day,  is  the  hollow  stone,  called  Kidd's 
Punch  Bowl,  where,  tradition  declares,  he  used  to 
carouse  with  his  men. 

Never,  in  the  old  days,  was  a  band  of  Indian  war 
riors  at  Sachem  Head  more  lawless  than  Captain 
Kidd  and  his  crew. 

Once  they  landed  on  Gardiner's  Island,  and  re 
quested  a  supper  of  Mrs.  Gardiner.  The  good 
woman,  fearing  the  displeasure  of  the  sea-robber, 
roasted  a  pig  in  her  very  best  style.  As  a  reward  for 
the  toothsome  meal  she  prepared,  Kidd  presented 
his  hostess  with  a  cradle-blanket  of  cloth-of-gold. 

Another  time  he  buried  a  curious  casket  of  jew 
els  on  Gardiner's  Island. 

Now,  the  king  had  sent  word  to  the  governors 
of  all  the  colonies,  to  arrest  Captain  Kidd,  if  ever 
he  should  return  to  his  old  haunts ;  but  the  com 
mand  was  easier  to  give  than  to  execute. 

Kidd  hovered  about  the  lovely  bay  of  Narragan- 
sett,  like  the  moth  about  a  candle ;  people  said  it 
was  because  he  had  such  vast  treasure  hidden 
there.  At  last  he  ventured  into  Rhode  Island, 
and  was  captured.  He  was  taken  to  Boston.  Then 
he  was  sent  to  London,  where  he  was  tried,  con 
demned  and  hanged. 


252        THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

But  for  many  years  he  still  lived  in  the  minds 
of  the  simple  fisherfolk  of  New  England. 

When  the  winds  were  high,  arid  the  tides  swept 
in,  they  fully  believed  that  the  coast  was  haunted 
by  Captain  Kidd  and  his  crew. 

As  for  the  Indians  who  dwelt  on  Nantucket  and 
the  neighboring  islands,  where  the  pirate  ship 
sailed  past,  when  they  heard  of  helpless  sailors 
tortured  and  thrown  overboard  to  the  whales,  they 
shuddered  with  fear,  and  drew  closer  the  mats  at 
the  doors  of  their  wigwams. 

"  Why,"  they  said,  "  do  white  men  talk  so  much 
about  the  cruelty  of  red  men !  " 


OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  253 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WARS. 

THE  United  Colonies  of  New  England  were  kepi 
very  busy  with  Indians  and  charters,  witches  and 
pirates. 

They  found  little  time  to  watch  the  growth  of 
their  neighbors. 

Meantime,  many  thousands  from  Europe  had 
sought  new  homes  to  the  south  of  them,  until  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Yirginia,  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia  became 
large  colonies,  with  governors  of  their  own. 

Now,  the  colonies  of  the  North  knew  very  little 
about  the  colonies  of  the  South. 

Yast  forests  and  marshes  and  deep  rivers  lay 
between  them,  and  hostile  Indians  dwelt  there, 
so  that  no  white  man  dared  travel  between  the  two 
sections  by  land. 

By  sea,  it  took  longer  to  go  from  Boston  to 
Jamestown  than  it  takes  now  to  go  to  London. 

Sometimes  news  was  brought  into  the  seaport 
towns  of  Indian  wars  in  Yirginia,  or  Spanish  wars 
in  Georgia ;  but  these  events  always  seemed  to 
have  happened  far  away  in  some  foreign  land.  It 


254         THE  STORY  OF  THE  INDIANS 

was  the  talk  of  the  taverns  at  night,  and  forgotten 
the  very  next  day. 

But  the  time  came  when  the  scattered  English 
colonies  knew  one  another  very  well. 

Common  dangers  drew  them  closer  and  closer 
together,  until  they  united  so  firmly  that  nothing 
could  ever  separate  them  again. 

First,  they  came  to  know  each  other  better,  be 
cause  of  the  lands  beyond  the  Alleghany  moun 
tains.  Their  charters  gave  them  these  lands.  To 
be  sure,  they  knew  nothing  about  them,  but  they 
became  restless,  penned  up  within  the  narrow  strip 
of  land  on  the  sea-coast,  and  began  to  look  over  the 
lofty  mountain  peaks,  behind  which  the  sun  went 
down  every  night.  They  saw  tangled  forests  and 
great  rivers,  and  many  tribes  of  red  men  and 
herds  of  wild  game,  of  which  they  had  never  even 
heard  the  names. 

They  were  astonished  to  see  what  a  foothold  the 
French  had  secured,  in  these  lands  which  they 
themselves  claimed. 

The  French  had  planted  missions  and  trading- 
posts  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  great  lakes  and 
the  Mississippi,  and  were  already  planning  a  vast 
empire  to  stretch  from  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Law 
rence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  The  whole 
country  was  a  paradise  for  traders.  It  was  said 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  255 

f 

there  were  enough  furs  to  furnish  every  pauper  in 
England  a  beaver  jacket,  and  that  gold  and  silver 
were  to  be  had  for  the  digging. 

When  King  George  heard  how  his  old  enemies, 
the  French,  were  taking  away  the  territory  claimed 
by  the  English,  he  resolved  to  occupy  the  lands 
with  his  own  subjects. 

So,  in  1749,  he  promised  a  large  tract  of  land, 
on  the  Ohio  river,  to  any  company  which  would 
plant  a  colony  of  one  hundred  persons  there.  The 
Ohio  Company  began  to  send  out  settlers  immedi 
ately  ;  but  before  they  could  establish  themselves, 
three  hundred  French  soldiers  took  possession  of 
the  valley.  Both  nations  now  proceeded  to  build 
forts  in  the  disputed  territory.  Deep  in  the  for 
ests  they  stood,  and  the  Indians  gazed  up  at  their 
frowning  walls  with  dread,  as  they  glided  past  in 
their  birch  canoes.  At  their  council  fires,  the  wa- 
riors  exclaimed  in  rage  : 

11  Why  do  not  the  Palefaces  settle  their  quarrels 
on  their  own  land,  or  upon  the  sea,  instead  of  here 
in  our  forests  !  "  Yet  they  were  powerless  to  keep 
out  the  intruders. 

Meanwhile,  delegates  from  New  England  met  at 
Albany,  with  other  delegates  from  New  York, 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  and  made  a  treaty 
with  the  Iroquois  Indians. 


256  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Now  the  French  had  all  the  Indians  as  their 
friends,  except  these  Iroqupis,  and  the  reason  of 
their  hostility  happened  in  this  way.  When  Samuel 
Champlain  discovered  the  St.  Lawrence,  theHurons 
dwelt  north  of  the  river,  and  were  at  war  with  the 
Iroquois,  who  dwelt  south  of  them.  When  they 
saw  the  wonderful  white  man  with  his  wonderful 
gun,  they  asked  him  to  help  them  in  their  war 
with  the  Iroquois.  Champlain  did  not  know  how 
powerful  this  enemy  was,  and  consented  to  -go 
with  the  Hurons. 

So,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Champlain,  he  fired 
into  the  Iroquois.  They  were  in  a  great  panic 
immediately.  They  heard  the  noise,  saw  their 
men  fall  about  them,  looked  once  at  the  Paleface 
in  shining  armor,  and  fled  like  a  flock  of  sheep  be 
fore  a  wolf.  Champlain  returned  to  France.  But 
the  Iroquois  never  forgot  the  French  for  this 
shame  they  had  brought  upon  them. 

They  bought  guns  of  the  Dutch,  and  for  many 
years  guarded  all  the  passes  to  the  rich  beaver 
"lands  of  the  Ohio. 

They  captured  the  transports  of  furs  which  the 

French  traders  had  bought,  and  kept  the  western 

Indians  in  such  a  fright,  that  trade  was  greatly 

impaired. 

,      And    so  it  happened  that,  when  the  delegates 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  257 

from  the  English  colonies  met  the  Iroquois  at  Al 
bany,  they  found  these  Indians  ready  to  enter  into 
an  alliance  to  fight  their  old  enemies,  the  French. 

In  the  spring  of  1755,  General  Edward  Brad- 
dock  came  over  from  England  with  British  troops, 
and  the  English  and  French  were  again  at  war 
with  each  other.  French  officers  in  gold  lace, 
trappers  in  doeskin,  priests  .in  their  black  robes, 
soldiers  in  the  white  uniform  of  the  French  king, 
gathered  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Eng 
lish  grenadiers  in  red  coats,  Scotch  Highlanders  in 
plaids,  and  colonial  troops  in  homespun,  rallied 
from  all  the  frontiers.  Rub-a-dub-dub,  rub-a- 
dub-dub,  beat  the  drums,  and  the  fife  resounded 
among  all  the  hills  of  New  England.  Garrets 
were  ransacked  for  great-grandfathers'  swords, 
rusted  with  the  blood  of  King  Philip's  wars.  The 
rattle  of  arms,  the  tread  of  soldiers,  and  the  hur 
rahing  of  street  boys,  were  heard  in  the  towns 
from  morning  till  night.  Indians  joined  each  side 
in  war-paint  and  feathers,  burning  with  the  hate 
of  over  a  hundred  years. 

There  were  many  exploits  worthy  of  recital 
here.  Frowning  forts  were  scaled,  swollen  rivers 
crossed  and  forests  cut  down.  In  the  far  west  the 
the  names  of  Washington,  Stark,  Putnam  and  Rog 
ers  were  spoken  in  praise,  for  their  daring  deeds. 


258  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

Meanwhile,  on  the  coast  of  New  England,  a  trag 
edy  was  taking  place. 

Nova  Scotia,  which  the  English  colonies  had 
captured  forty  years  before,  had  been  nearly  for 
gotten. 

The  simple  French  peasants  dwelt  in  their  old 
houses,  as  they  had  done  before  the  fort  in  the 
harbor  was  taken.  They  reclaimed  the  wild  lands 
from  the  forest  and  ocean.  Meadows  were  covered 
with  flocks,  arid  fields  of  waving  grain  furnished  an 
abundance  of  food.  Matrons  and  maids  were  busy 
at  the  spinning-wheel,  and  the  few  luxuries  were 
bought  in  exchange  for  furs  or  grain. 

And  so  they  lived,  in  a  simple,  honest  fashion, 
busy  with  the  common  toils  of  the  day. 

They  loved  the  language  and  the  religion  of 
their  forefathers.  They  had  their  parish  priests, 
and  settled  their  own  disputes  among  themselves. 

No  wars  came  to  weaken  them,  and,  at  the  time 
of  this  French  and  Indian  war,  there  were  sixteen 
.  thousand  Acadians  in  Nova  Scotia. 

"  What  should  be  done  with  these  Frenchmen  ? " 
asked  the  people  of  New  England.  There  they 
were  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  They 
might  join  their  countrymen  and  make  war  on  the 
colonies. 

They  would,  at  least,  furnish  food  to  the  French 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  259 

garrisons  across  the  bay.  So  they  were  forced  to 
surrender  their  boats  and  firearms. 

But  still  the  Acadians  were  a  thorn  in  the  side 
of  New  England.  What  should  be  done  with 
them? 

To  fortify  the  island  would  require  money  and 
men.  At  last  it  was  decided  to  drive  them  from 
their  homes,  and  scatter  them  through  the  colonies. 

Governor  Lawrence,  with  his  New  England 
troops,  sailed  to  the  North,  and  captured  the  two 
French  forts  on  the  narrow  neck,  which  separated 
Nova  Scotia  from  Canada. 

Then  he  ordered  all  the  Acadians  to  come  to 
gether  in  the  different  towns.  They  went  without 
arms  :  for  they  had  none. 

At  Grrand-Pre,  four  thousand  and  eighteen 
Frenchmen  were  marched  into  church. 

Then,  they  were  told  by  an  officer,  that  they 
were  the  prisoners  of  the  English  king,  who  com 
manded  them  to  leave  Acadia  forever. 

A  cry  of  horror  arose  from  the  wretched  men, 
which  was  answered  by  the  waiting  women  and 
children  outside  the  church,  who  feared,  they 
knew  not  what.  Ships  lay  waiting  in  the  harbor. 

The  young  men  were  ordered  to  embark  first. 
There  was  no  use  to  rebel.  The  soldiers  were  be 
side  them  with  pointed  bayonets.  They  marched 


260  THE    STORY   OF    THE    INDIANS 

from  the  church  to  the  vessels,  between  lines  of 
weeping  women.  Then  the  old  men  went  next. 
The  vessels  were  filled  and  sailed  away.  No  one 
knew  to  what  ports  they  went. 

The  women  and  children  remained  behind  in 
the  bitter  cold  weather,  suffering-  for  food  and  shel 
ter,  until  the  ships  came  back  to  bear  them  away 
to  exile. 

Seven  thousand  French  people  were  thus  scat 
tered  throughout  the  American  colonies. 

One  thousand  were  landed  in  Massachusetts. 
There  they  stood  in  a  strange  land.  They  could 
not  speak  a  word  of  the  English  language.  They 
needed  food,  clothing,  and  a  place  to  rest,  after  the 
long  sea  voyage.  But  crowds  of  thoughtless  boys 
teased  them,  as  you  see  them  do  to-day,  when  for 
eign  immigrants  land  at  Castle  Garden.  It  was  a 
heart-rending  scene  as  these  thrifty  French  people, 
who  had  owned  homes  of  their  own,  were  scat 
tered  among  the  alms-houses,  or  made  servants  in 
the  kitchens  of  their  masters.  Many  families  were 
never  reunited.  Mothers  mourned  their  children  ; 
wives  mourned  their  husbands. 

Some  escaped  from  the  colonies  in  boats,  and 
coasted  northward  toward  their  old  homes  ;  but 
they  were  soon  seized,  and  forced  to  go  ashore 
again. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  261 

Their  cattle,  sheep  and  horses  were  taken  by  the 
English  officers.  Their  lands  in  Acadia  went  back 
to  the  first  wilderness.  Dikes  were  broken  in  by 
the  ocean.  Orchards  were  choked  by  thickets  ; 
the  thatched  roofs  of  cottages  fell  in  from  decay. 

And  as  the  Indian  trappers  wandered  over  the 
deserted  lands,  they  sadly  said,  "  All  must  perish, 
even  Paleface  brothers,  who  stand  in  the  path  of 
the  English." 


262         THE  STORY  OP  THE  INDIANS 


CHAPTER  XL. 

THE    LAST    INDIANS    OF    NEW    ENGLAND. 

SCOTCH  Highlanders,  English  red-coats,  and 
American  troops,  in  homespun,  drove  the  French 
and  Indians  from  the  western  forts,  until  at  last 
only  Montreal  and  Quebec  remained  to  be  con 
quered. 

A  great  armament,  under  command  of  General 
Wolfe,  sailed  past  the  bays  of  New  England  on  its 
way  to  the  capital  of  the  French. 

There  were  twenty-two  ships-of-line,  and  as 
many  frigates  and  armed  vessels,  and  eight  thou 
sand  men,  were  borne  through  the  waves  to  meet 
victory  or  death.  Pennons  were  streaming,  oars 
were  flashing,  and  white  sails  were  unfurled  to 
the  breeze,  as  they  moved  past  the  towns  by  the 
sea. 

Weeks  passed.  One  day,  a  ship  with  red  stream 
ers  sailed  swiftly  into  Boston  harbor,  and  brought 
the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Quebec.  The  key  of 
Canada  had  been  taken  !  Montreal  surrendered  a 
few  months  later,  and  at  last  the  cruel  French  and 
Indian  wars  were  over. 


OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  263 

There  was  joy  throughout  the  colonies.  Bon 
fires  blazed  on  every  hill.  Newspapers  scattered 
the  news. 

The  American  people  were  grateful  to  England 
for  aid  in  the  war,  and  erected  monuments  to  the 
king,  and  to  the  generals  who  had  lost  their  lives 
in  defense  of  English  soil  in  America. 

The  legislatures,  of  the  different  states,  vied  with 
each  other  in  eulogies.  They  called  George  II 
the  "  Scourge  of  Tyrants,  and  the  Hope  of  the 
Oppressed." 

There  was  sorrow  for  the  dead,  and  pity  for 
the  living  who  were  crippled  for  the  rest  of  their 
lives. 

But  there  was  peace  once  more  in  all  the  land. 
The  plow  again  turned  up  the  rich  soil  for  the 
golden  grain.  The  wheels  went  round.  The  ships 
sped  over  the  ocean  without  fear  of  privateers. 

Rhode  Island  alone,  soon  had  one  hundred  and 
eighty-four  vessels  bound  for  foreign  parts,  and 
three  hundred  and  fifty  for  the  coasting  trade,  arid 
all  the  bays  were  white  with  the  sails  of  ships  from 
every  sea. 

England  began  to  say  that  the  colonies  of  Amer 
ica  were  the  fairest  jewels  in  the  crown. 

Nearly  eighty  years  had  passed  since  the  last 
remnants  of  King  Philip's  wars  had  guided  the 


264  THE    STORY    OP    THE    INDIANS 

French  to  the  towns  of  New  England.     The  war- 

o 

riors  of  one  generation  had  read  the  wampum  belts 
of  the  generation  that  had  gone.  They  had  found 
sweet  revenge  as  they  followed  the  warpath  to  the 
English,  over  the  hidden  trails  of  their  forefathers. 

But  now  the  last  battle  was  over.  The  last 
scalp  was  taken.  The  dusky  warriors  withdrew 
from  the  rivers,  ponds,  and  hunting-grounds,  in 
the  Land  of  the  Bays,  and  pushed  farther  to  the 
west. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  there  were  ninety  fami 
lies  on  the  island  of  Nantucket.  But  in  a  few 
months,  over  two  hundred  persons  died  from  a  ter 
rible  disease.  At  the  same  time,  the  famous  blue- 
fish  disappeared  from  the  coves  of  the  island.  The 
natives  saw,  in  this,  a  gloomy  omen  of  their  own 
end.  They  abandoned  their  churches,  and  soon 
a  straggling  little  band,  broken  in  spirit  and 
wasted  in  body,  was  all  that  was  left  of  the  thou 
sands  who  had  formerly  dwelt  on  Nantucket. 

The  Mount  Hope  of  Massasoit,  which  had  fallen 
to  Plymouth,  by  conquest,  was  sold  to  four  Boston 
merchants,  and  the  Wampanoags  were  seen  there 
no  more. 

The  last  remnants  of  the  proud  Narragansetts 
dwelt  near  Charlestown,  Rhode  Island. 

There,    on  a  neighboring   hill,  was  the  burial- 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  265 

place  of  their  kings.  Toward  the  morning  sun 
was  the  dark  mass  of  hemlocks,  near  which  Canon- 
chet  had  fallen.  Near  by,  in  Sachem's  Plain, 
towered  the  high  pile  of  stone,  beneath  which 
proud,  young  Miantonomo  found  release  from  the 
insults  of  the  Palefaces. 

In  Massachusetts,  the  few  Indians  in  the  pray 
ing  towns  hired  out  as  servants,  or  wandered  about 
as  vagrants.  They  married  among  the  negroes, 
and  soon  were  known  no  more  as  a  race. 

In  Connecticut,  a  few  red  men  still  dwelt  on 
their  own  lands  ;  but  no  scalps  hung  in  their  wig 
wams,  no  squaw  pounded  the  corn  as  of  vore,  no 
deer  lurked  in  the  forest.  The  wigwams  of  skins 
were  changed  to  shanties  of  pine,  and  the  sons  of 
famous  warriors  cut  firewood,  and  peddled  baskets, 
from  village  to  village. 

In  New  Hampshire,  where  the  mountains  tower 
above  the  blue  lakes,  dwelt  Chocorua,  the  last  chief 
of  his  tribe.  When  he  had  buried  his  wife  by  the 
side  of  the  brook,  all  that  was  left  to  him  was  his 
little  son. 

One  day  the  boy  visited  the  home  of  Mr.  Camp 
bell,  and  died  very  soon  after.  The  chief  was 
frantic  in  his  grief.  He  brooded  over  his  loss,  un 
til  he  was  convinced  that  his  son  had  been  poisoned, 
and  he  resolved  to  avenge  his  death. 


266  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

One  night,  when  Mr.  Campbell  returned  from 
his  work  in  the  field,  he  found  all  his  family  dead. 
They  had  been  scalped  in  the  most  brutal  manner. 
Chocorua  had  been  there.  The  white  settlers 
banded  together  in  pursuit.  They  found  the 
chieftain  standing  on  the  brow  of  a  high  cliff.  He 
stood  like  some  stone  image  far  above  his  ene 
mies. 

"Throw  yourself  down  from  the  cliff,  or  we 
shoot, "  shouted  the  men  below.  No  answer  came 
back.  Again  the  men  called,  and  pointed  their 
muskets.  "  I  shall  not  throw  my  life  away  at  the 
bidding  of  any  white  man,"  cried  out  the  chieftain, 
in  broken  English. 

His  pursuers  sent  a  volley  of  shot  up  the  moun 
tain.  The  lonely  chieftain  stood  erect  fora  moment, 
stretched  out  his  hands,  and  pronounced  an  awful 
curse  upon  the  white  men  who  had  destroyed  his 
race.  Then  the  last  of  the  New  Hampshire  tribe 
fell  on  his  face.  It  is  tradition,  that  the  trees,  at 
the  base  of  this  mountain,  withered,  meadows  lay 
parched  like  a  desert,  brooks  dried  up,  cattle  died 
of  disease,  and  the  white  settlers  moved  away 
from  the  spot  which  was  cursed  by  the  chieftain, 

Chocorua. 

A  few  years  later,  an  Indian  chief  returned  from 

the  far  west  to  visit  his  old  hunting-grounds.     He 


DEATH   OF   CHOCORUA. 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  267 

came  to  New  York  City,  and  seemed  much  de 
jected  as  he  looked  out  over  the  beautiful  bay. 

"I  have  been  looking  at  your  great  city/7  he 
said,  "  and  see  how  happy  you  all  are.  But,  then, 
I  cannot  help  thinking  that  this  fine  country,  and 
this  great  water,  was  once  ours.  It  was  the  gift 
of  the  great  Spirit  to  our  ancestors,  and  to  their 
children. 

"  At  last  the  white  people  came  in  a  great  ca 
noe.  They  asked  only  to  tie  the  canoe  to  a  tree, 
lest  the  waters  should  carry  it  away.  Then  they 
said  some  of  their  people  were  sick,  and  asked  per 
mission  to  land  them,  and  put  them  under  the 
shade  of  the  trees.  The  ice  came,  and  they  could 
not  go  away.  They  begged  for  a  piece  of  land, 
to  build  wigwams  for  the  winter.  Then  they 
asked  for  some  corn,  to  keep  them  from  starving, 
and  promised  to  go  away  when  the  ice  was  gone. 

"  When  spring  came,  we  told  them  they  must  go 
away  with  their  big  canoe  ;  but  they  pointed  to 
the  great  guns  around  their  wigwams,  and  said 
they  would  stay  there.  We  could  not  make  them 
go  away. 

11  Afterwards,  more  came.  They  brought  fire 
water  with  them,  of  which  the  Indians  became  very 
fond.  They  persuaded  us  to  sell  them  some  land. 
They  drove  us  back,  from  time  to  time,  into  the 


268  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

wilderness,  far  from  the  water  and  the  fish  and  the 
oysters. 

"They  have  destroyed  the  game.  Our  people 
have  wasted  away  ;  we,  who  live,  are  miserable  and 
wretched,  while  you  are  rejoicing  over  your  free 
and  beautiful  country.  This  makes  me  sorry, 
brethren,  and  I  cannot  help  it." 

"When  you  carne  over  the  morning  waters,'7 
said  one  sachem  of  Massachusetts,  "we  took  you 
into  our  arms,  we  fed  you  with  our  best  meat. 
Never  went  white  man  cold  and  hungry  from  an 
Indian  wigwam." 

c5 

But  the  red  men  and  the  white  men  could  not 
dwell  together. 

In  Maine,  one  of  the  Kennebec  tribes  settled  on 
a  grant  of  land  with  several  white  men.  He  was 
not  ill-treated  ;  but  there  was  a  deep-seated  preju 
dice  against  him,  and  he  felt  a  stranger  in  their 
midst.  His  only  child  died.  No  neighbors  came 

«/  o 

near  to  help  him  with  the  last  sad  rites  of  burial. 
Shortly  after,  he  called  at  the  home  of  one  of  the 
settlers.  He  bore  traces  of  great  grief  and  sadly 
said  :  "  When  the  white  man's  child  die,  Indian 
very  sorry.  He  help  bury  him.  He  shed  tears. 
When  Indian  child  die,  no  one  speak.  I  make  his 
grave  alone.  I  can  no  live  here." 

And  he  gave  up  his  farm,  dug  up  the  body  of 


OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  269 

his  child,  and  carried  it  two  hundred  miles  through 
the  forests,  to  join  the  Canadian  Indians. 

When  another  Indian  was  asked  to  settle  in  one 
of  the  white  towns,  he  shook  his  head.  "  Here  I  am, 
deaf  and  dumb,"  he  said,  "I  do  not  talk  your  lan 
guage.  I  can  neither  hear,  nor  make  myself 
heard.  When  I  walk  through  your  busy  streets, 
I  see  every  person  in  his  shop.  One  makes  shoes, 
another  hats,  a  third  sells  cloth,  and  every  man 
lives  by  his  labor.  I  can  not  do  one  of  these 
things.  I  can  make  a  bow,  catch  fish,  kill  game 
and  go  to  war  ;  but  none  of  these  things  is  of  any 
use  to  me  here." 

"We  are  driven  back  until  we  can  retreat  no 
farther,"  said  another  old  warrior.  "  Our  hatchets 
are  broken,  our  bows  are  snapped,  our  fires  are 
nearly  extinguished.  A  little  longer,  and  the 
white  man  shall  cease  to  persecute  us,  for  we  shall 
cease  to  exist." 

The  last  tribute  of  wampum  had  been  paid. 
The  white  men  had  now  the  pine  shilling,  and  the 
gold  and  silver  from  the  mint  of  England,  in  re 
turn  for  the  products  of  the  soil. 

They  built  their  log  cabins  in  the  edge  of  the 
forests,  until  the  Indians  fled  beyond  the  great 
Father  of  Waters. 

The    red   men    of  Ne'w   England  left  no  lofty 


270  THE    STORY    OF    THE    INDIANS 

ruin  behind  them.  Only  a  few  arrow-heads  and 
strings  of  wampum,  dug  up  by  the  plow,  a  few 
names  of  mountains,  streams  and  valleys,  remain 
to  tell  of  the  once  proud  race  that  roamed  in  the 
Land  of  the  Bays. 

THE    END, 


PRONOUNCING  VOCABULARY. 


Adrianople, 

Algonquin, 

Amawon, 

buccaneer, 

burgher, 

Canonchet, 

Canonicus, 

Cartier, 

Chocorua, 

Chickatabit, 

Coatuit, 

conch, 

doughty, 

drought, 

enthusiasm, 

fakir, 

Frontenac, 

gibe, 

Glooskap, 

gnarled, 

gourd, 

Grand  Pre, 

grouse, 

Henlopen, 

Howan, 

Hiacoomes, 

Iroquois, 


Ad"ri-an-6'-ple. 
Al-gon'kin. 
Am'a-won. 
buk-a-ner'. 
ber'ger. 
Ka-non'chet. 
Kan-non'i-kus. 
Kar-ty-a. 
Cho-kor'u-a. 
Chick-a-ta'bit. 
Ko-at'u-it. 
kongk. 
dou'ti. 
drout. 

en-thu'zi-asm. 
fa'ker. 
Front-nak'. 
jib. 

Gloos'kap. 
narld. 
gord. 

Gron  Pra'. 
grous. 
Hen-lo'pen. 
Ho-wan'. 
He-a-coo'mes. 
Ir-o-kwoi. 
271 


272 


PRONOUNCING  VOCABULARY. 


Jacques, 

Kabeyun, 

Kwasind, 

Leyden, 

Lymbach, 

magician, 

Manitou, 

maneuvred, 

Marshpee, 

Massasoit, 

massacre, 

Marseilles, 

Mioonie, 

Miantonomo, 

Mobilian, 

moccasin, 

Mohawk, 

Moliegan, 

M  os  hup, 

Narragansett, 

Nipmunk, 

Niwasse, 

Osseo, 

Oweenee, 

pantomime, 

partridge, 

pasha, 

Pecsuot, 

Pequod, 

Piscatagua, 

Pocasset, 

Pometacom, 

Ponce  de  Leon, 


Zhak. 

Ka-bey-un. 

Kwa-sind'. 

Li-den. 

Lim'bach. 

ma-jish'an. 

Man'i-to. 

ma-no 'verd. 

Marsh'pee. 

Mas'a-so-it. 

mas'a-ker. 

Mar-sal'. 

Me-oo'ne. 

Mi-an-to-no'mo. 

Mo-be'li-an. 

mok'a-sin. 

Mo'hak. 

Mo-he'gan. 

Mo'shup. 

Nar-a-gan'set. 

Nip'munk. 

Ne-was'se. 

Os-se'o. 

0-we'ne. 

pan'to-mim. 

par'trij. 

pash'a. 

Pek'su-ot. 

Pe'kwod. 

Pis-kat'a-kwii. 

Po-kas'set. 

Po-met'a-com. 

Pon'tha-da-la-on, 


PRONOUNCING    VOCABULARY. 


273 


porcupine, 

por'ku-pin. 

porpoise, 

por'pus. 

powwow, 

pou'wou. 

Sachem, 

Sa'chem. 

Saco, 

Sa'ko. 

Samoset, 

Sam-o-set'. 

Sassacus, 

Sas'sa-kus. 

Sausamon, 

Sau'sa-mon. 

Sedan, 

Se-dan'. 

shallop, 

shal'op. 

Sowam, 

So-wam'. 

Squanto, 

Squan'to. 

sturgeon, 

ster'jon. 

Stuyvesant, 

StiVe-sant. 

succotash, 

suk'o-tash. 

Tarratines, 

Tar'ra-tines. 

Taunton, 

Tan'ton. 

Thames, 

Thamz. 

tithing, 

tfthing. 

Tortuga, 

Tor-to'ga. 

totem, 

to'tem. 

trophy, 

tro'fi. 

Uncas, 

Ung'kas. 

Verrazzani, 

Ver-rat-sa'ne. 

Wabun, 

Wa'bun. 

Wamponoag, 

Warn  -pa-no  'ag. 

wampum, 

wom'pum. 

Wamsetta, 

"Wam-set'ta. 

warrior, 

wor'i-er. 

Weetamoe, 

We'ta-mo. 

Wetuwamet, 

Wet-u-wa'met. 

whortleberry, 

hwer'tl-ber"i. 

Wookanuske, 

Woo-ka-nus'ke. 

GEOGRAPHICAI^SERIES. 

AROUND  THE  WORLD. 

FIRST  BOOK,  PRIMARY. 

FOR  FIRST  AND  SECOND  GRADES. 
BY 

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SUPT.  OF  SCHOOLS,  WORCESTER,  MASS. 

A  Sociological  Reader,  carefully  graded,  on  Eskimos,  Indians,  Arabs,  Dutch, 
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to  endorse  your  system  of  penmanship.  It  has  long  been  my  private  opinion  that  the  vertical 
writing  would  not  satisfy  business  demands,  and  that  a  compromise  must  be  effected.  I 
believe  that  you  have  solved  the  problem." 

3.  m.  Hdams,  teacher  of  Penmanship,  Garten,  Utah.—"  Your  system  of  copy-books  is  the 

'  happy  medium  '  between  the  two  extremes,  and  when  taught  from  first  grade  to  high  school 
will,  in  my  opinion,  be  a  great  improvement  on  any  system  yet  produced.11 

€l!a  JJ.  fieffrott,  Supervisor  Penmanship,  Utica,  H.  V.—"  I  am  much  pleased  with  all  the  books. 
I  feel  sure  the  system  will  be  a  great  help  in  securing  better  results  in  writing.11 

tyman  I).  Smith,  Supervisor  Penmanship,  Rartford,  Conn.—"  Your  Copy  -Books,  which  we  have 

been  using  in  all  pur  classes,  give  great  satisfaction.  Every  teacher  is  loud  in  praise  of  the 
style  of  the  writing  and  the  character  of  the  matter  for  practice.  I  have  never  seen  pupils 
flo  carried  away  with  new  copy-books  in  all  my  teaching.11 

WHAT  BUSINESS  MEN  SAY: 

01.  €.  Uosbursb  mta.  Company,  Limited,  ?.  £.  Strickland,  Creas.,  Brooklyn,   n.  7.  -"An 

examination  of  the  penmanship  of  correspondence,  etc.,  sent  to  this  house  shows  that  most 
of  it  is  on  a  75  degree  slant.11 

Condon  and  Lancashire  Tire  Insurance  Co.,  n.  V.  Citv,  T.  €.  Shaw,  Haency  Supt.—  "  We  beg  to 

say  that  we  find  the  majority  of  our  staff  write  at  an  angle  between  70  and  80  degrees.11 

Wm.  H.  Hremer,  Secretary,  German  -Hmerican  insurance  Co.,  Hew  Vork.—  "  We  beg  to  say  that 

a  large  number  of  our  force  write  at  an  angle  of  75  degrees,  very  few,  indeed,  exceeding  the 
80  or  less  than  the  70.  We  find  that  the  vertical  writers  are  quite  slow." 

PER  DOZ. 

Illustrated  Writing  Primer    ......  $0.72 

Short  Course,  Nos.  1-2=3=4  .......  72 

Regular  Course,  Nos.  1-2-3-4-5-6-7=8  .    .       .96 

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THE  IDEAL  SYSTEM  OF  WRITING  FOR  AMERICAN  SCHOOLS. 


THE  MORSE  COMPANY.JPUBLISHERS, 

MAIN  OFFICE:  96  FIFTH  AVE.,  NEW  YORK. 
Chicago  Office  :  195  and  197  Wabash  Ave.  Boston  Office  :  36  Bromfield  St. 


FAIRY  TALE  AND  FABLE. 

JOHN  G.  THOMPSON,          THOS.  E.  THOMPSON, 

MUM.  STATH  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  FITCHBURG,   MASS.  SUPERINTENDENT  SCHOOLS,  LEOMINSTER,  MASS. 


THE  PIONEER  BOOK  OP  HIGH  ART  IN  PRIMARY  READING. 

Illustrated  with  Reproductions  from  Great  Artists — Landseer,  Rosa 
Bonheur,  Von  Bremen,  Troyon,  and  others. 

Mailing  Price  40  Cents.      Liberal  Discount  to  Schools. 

Rev.  A.  E.  Winship,  Editor  "Journal  of  Education,"  Boston. — "  This  is  one 
of  the  great  first  readers,  of  which  two  or  three  others  have  appeared  this  year, 
none  of  which  is  better  than  this.  It  is  certainly  clear  that  the  first  readers  will 
be  on  a  new  line  hereafter.  The  editor  knows  this  book  in  use,  and  delights  to 
testify  to  its  working  qualities.  The  masterpieces  of  art  have  never  before  appeared 
in  any  first  reader.  There  are  seventeen  full-page  reproductions  of  the  most  ap 
propriate  works  of  the  great  masters.  On  the  first  page  are  given  200  words  with 
which  the  children  are  supposed  to  have  been  made  familiar  through  blackboard 
work  before  taking  the  book." 

F.  Lilian  Taylor,  Prin.  Training  School,  Galesburg,  111. — "  I  think  '  Fairy  Talt 
and  Fable'  an  excellent  book,  and  propose  very  soon  to  send  an  order." 

E.  G.  Ward,  Ass't  Supt.  of  Instruction,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Public  Schools.— 
"A  most  exquisite  book  in  every  respect." 

Sarah  L.  Arnold,  Supervisor  of  Schools,  Boston,  Mass. — "  I  am  delighted  with 
'  Fairy  Tale  and  Fable.'  I  hope  the  book  will  have  the  wide  sale  it  deserves." 

Dr.  C.  H.  Levermore,  Pres.  Adelphi  College,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. — "We  have 
examined  carefully  '  Fairy  Tale  and  Fable,'  and  all  endorse  it  most  heartily.  We 
shall  order  it  soon." 

Gratia  L.  Rice,  Supervisor  of  Drawing,  Buffalo  Schools. — "  It  is  my  idea  of 
an  artistic  school-book.  May  success  attend  it." 

C.  N.  Kendall,  Supt.  Schools,  New  Haven,  Conn.— "Our  Board,  at  its  last 
meeting,  put  on  our  list  '  Fairy  Tale  and  Fable '  by  Thompson,  We  shall  want  a 
number  of  this  book  during  the  year." 

Karl  Mathie,  Supt.  Schools,  Wausau,  Wis.— "  Send  us  foity  more  of  your 
'  incomparable  '  '  Fairy  Tale  and  Fable.'  " 

Adopted  and  in  general  use  in  New  York  City,  Boston,  Mass.,  Brook 
lyn,  N.  Y.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Denver,  Col.,  Jersey  City, 
N.  J.,  New  Haven,  Conn.,  Worcester,  Mass.,  Cook  County,  111.,  Moigan- 
town,  N.  C.,  Dallas,  Tex.,  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  Wausau,  Wis.,  Waukegan, 
111.,  Sioux  City,  la.,  and  in  hundreds  of  other  places. 

THE  MORSE  COMPANY...PTJBLISHERS, 

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NATLJRK'S    BYWAYS. 

By  NELLIE  WALTON  FORD. 

Natural  Science  for  Primary  Pupils,  beautifully  illustrated  by  repro 
ductions  from  Great  Artists ;  Literature,  a  Juvenile  Poem* 

Mailing  Price,  400.       Liberal  Discount  to  Schools. 


B.  M.  Phelan,  Prin.  St.  Paul  Teachers'.Training  School.—  Please  send  enclosed  order 
for  "  Nature's  Byways  "  for  use  in  first  grade.  We  have  wanted  a  book  of  this  kind  for  use  in 
connection  with  our  nature  study,  and  I  am  glad  you  have  succeeded  in  putting  Miss  Ford's 
lessons  in  so  attractive  a  form. 

Prof.  M.  V.  O'Shea,  School  of  Pedagogy,  University  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.—  I  am  par 
ticularly  pleased  with  "  Nature's  Byways."  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  it  appears  to 
be  a  delightful  book,  and  most  happily  adapted  for  beginners  in  reading.  The  selections  seem 
well  chosen  and  admirably  arranged.  The  book  emphasizes  the  thought  side  in  reading,  and 
minimizes  the  attention  which  is  given  to  purely  formal  drills  upon  words.  The  illustrations 
are  especially  to  be  praised.  I  feel  certain  that  you  have  produced  a  culture  book  for  children. 
Mechanically  it  is  perfect. 

Richard  C.  Boone,  Prin.  Michigan  State  Normal  School,  Ypsilanti,  Mich.— I  have 
examined  ".Nature's  Byways  "  with  great  satisfaction.  Among  all  books  on  natural  science 
for  children,  especially  for  the  younger  children,  this  seems  to  me  one  of  the  sanest  and  most 

Fractical.    It  is  admirable  in  its  subject  matter  and  not  less  satisfactory  in  its  arrangement, 
congratulate  you  and  the   author  upon  so  great  success  in  presenting  the  natural  sciences 
to  children. 

Mary  F.  Hall,  Primary  Supervisor,  Public  Schools,  Milwaukee,  Wis.— Of  all  the 
books  I  have  seen  that  are  based  on  the  idea  of  relating  the  early  reading  lessons  to  the  les 
sons  on  nature  objects,  "  Nature's  Byways  "  seems  the  most  widely  useful  to  all  teachers, 
both  in  its  selection  and  treatment  of  matter.  The  high  art  illustrations,  as  well  as  its  gen 
eral  artistic  features,  make  the  book  one  of  unusual  merit. 

Eev.  A.  E.  Winship,  Editor  "Journal  of  Education."— This  charmingly  illustrated 
book  is  admirably  adapted  to  interest  young  children  in  natural  science.  It  is,  in  a  sense,  a 
graded  reader,  stimulating  to  nature  study.  The  language  chosen  is  almost  classical  in  tits 
purity  and  simplicity.  Each  lesson  becomes  a  model  for  the  young  pupil  to  follow  in  writing 
his  own  description  of  leaves,  flowers,  fruits,  animals  and  things  in  nature.  The  reproduc 
tions  of  the  great  artists  are  so  accurately  described  in  the  text,  as  to  become  real  lessons  in 
art. 

AnnaM.  Nolte,  Kindergartner,  Hardy  School,  Duluth,  Minn.— I  heartily  recommend 
"  Nature's  Byways  "  for  its  simplicity,  its  artistic  nature,  and  clear,  positive  style  of  ex 
pressing  thought,  helping  the  child  to  understand  nature  aright. 

Mary  Louise  Eastman,  Prin.  Primary  Dept.,  State  Normal  School,  Cortland,  N.  Y. 
—We  endorse  "Nature's  Byways"  most  heartily,  and,"as  proof,  we  have  ordered  a  number  of 
copies. 

Marietta  Mathews,  Primary  Dept.,  Public  Schools,  Worcester,  Mass. -The  beau 
tiful  book,  "  Nature's  Byways,"  received.  All  the  teachers  think  it  charming. 

Marietta  L.  Pierce,  Prin.  Primary  Dept.,  Normal  School,  Mankato,  Minn.-I  am 


great  value  in  any  primary  school.     We  shall  use  it  in  our  school. 

ADOPTED  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY,  BROOKLYN,  NEWARK,   JERSEY  CITY,  BUFFALO, 
PHILADELPHIA,  BOSTON,  CHICAGO,  ETC. 

The  Universal  Verdict  is  that  f(  Nature's  Byways  "  is  tbe  'Best 
Natural  Science  Reader  in  print. 


COMPANY, 

MAIN  OFFICE:  96  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK, 


EASY  EXPERIMENTS  IN  PHYSICS. 


BY  PRESTON  SMITH, 

STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,   FITCHBURG,  MASS. 


The  Work  of  a  Practical  Instructor.  Original  in  arrangement.  Simple 
in  Method.  A  Book  for  Solid  Foundation  Work. 

Simple  and  inexpensive  apparatus  required  for  each  experiment,  easily 
obtainable  everywhere.  ' 

Mailing  Trice  50  Cents.     Liberal  ^Discount  to  Schools. 

The  Opinion  of  Mr.  Joseph  G.  Brown,  Prof,  of  Physics  and 
Chemistry,  Illinois  State  Normal  University,  on  "EASY  EX 
PERIMENTS  in  PHYSICS. 

Dear  Sirs: — Preston  Smith's  little  book,  "Easy  Experiments  in  Physics,'' 
has  come  into  my  hands.  I  want  to  say  that  it  is  by  far  the  most  complete  and 
best  thing  of  its  kind  that  I  have  seen.  It  embraces  just  the  right  kind  of  work 
and  a  suitable  amount  of  it  for  intermediate  and  grammar  grades.  The  work  which 
we  do  in  our  Practice  School  is  almost  identical  with  the  material  of  this  book.  I 
am  very  glad  to  note  its  appearance,  and  feel  sure  that  it  will  meet  with  success 
wherever  it  is  given  a  fair  trial. 


A  NATURE  CALENDAR. 


BY  THOS.  E.  THOMPSON. 

SUPT.  SCHOOLS,  LEOMINSTER,  MASS. 


Indispensable  Memorandum-book  for  students  of  Botany,  Ornithology 
and  Nature.  English  and  Scientific  names  of  Flowers,  Trees,  Birds,  etc., 
with  space  for  data  covering  four  years.  Order  in  February. 

^Mailing  Trice  36  Cents.     Liberal  "Discount  to  Schools. 

Letitia  M.  Booth,  Institute  for  the  Deaf,  Rome,  N.  Y.  — "  I  like  Thompson's 
'Nature  Calendar'  very  much.  It  is  one  of  the  neatest  things  of  its  kind  I  have 
ever  seen.  Being  handsomely  bound  in  cloth,  it  makes  a  valuable  Log  Book  of 
Nature." 


THE  MORSE  COMPANY...PUBLISHERS, 

MAIN  OFFICE:  96  FIFTH  AVE.,  NEW  YORK. 
Chicago  Office  :  195  and  197  Wabash  Ave.  Boston  Office  :  36  Bromfield  St. 


MORSE  SPELLER 

BY  SAMUEL  T.  DUTTON, 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  SCHOOLS,   BROOKLINE,  MASS. 


A  NATURAL,  INTERESTING  AND  ECONOMICAL  METHOD  OF 
TEACHING   WORDS. 

THE  CORRELATION  OF  SPELLING  WITH  GEOGRAPHY,  HISTORY, 
SCIENCE  AND  LITERATURE. 

Mailing  Price,  Complete,  30  Cents.     Liberal  Discount  to  Schools. 
Part  I,  75  Cents  ;  Part  II,  20  Cents. 

Dr.  C.  H.  Levermore,  Pres.  Adelphi  College,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.-~ "  I  am  much 
impressed  with  the  plan  of  the  '  Morse  Speller.'  It  seems  to  me  that  the  principle 
of  basing  spelling  work  on  the  lessons  in  geography,  history  and  science,  is  the 
right  one.  In  general,  I  think  that  this  book  has  a  more  sensible  plan  than  that 
of  any  other  spelling  book  I  know." 

W.  F.  Gordy,  Supervising  Prin.  Public  Schools,  Hartford,  Conn.—"  The 
'Morse  Speller'  is  almost  an  ideal  book.  Its  plan  is  in  every  way  sensible  and 
practical,  and  its  intelligent  use  must  lead  to  the  best  results  in  the  school-room." 

W.  E.  Bates,  Supt.  Schools,  Fall  River,  Mass.— "  The  'Morse  Speller'  is  an 
excellent  book.  Dictation  ought  to  be  the  principal  feature  of  instruction  in 
spelling,  and  in  this  book  it  is  made  so." 

Eva  D.  Kellogg,  Editor  "Primary  Education,"  Evanston,  111. — "I  like  the 
'Morse  Speller,'  and  am  going  to  advise  the  readers  of  'Primary  Education'  to 
buy  it." 

J.  A.  Shawan,  Supt.  Schools,  Columbus,  Ohio. — "  It  was  supposed  that  great 
progress  had  been  made  when  oral  spelling  gave  place  to  written.  The  '  Morse 
Speller '  carries  the  idea  further  in  emphasizing  the  spelling  of  words  in  their 
proper  relation  to  other  words  in  sentences.  The  excellent  exercises  for  dictation 
will  prove  valuable  drills  in  the  proper  forms  of  written  language.  The  introduc 
tion  of  words  at  the  proper  time  which  have  a  bearing  upon  other  subjects  under 
consideration,  has  been  admirably  managed.  I  congratulate  you  on  the  work, 
and  wish  you  success." 

Prof.  Edward  R.  Shaw,  Dean  of  the  School  of  Pedagogy,  New  York  City.— 
"  It  is  my  idea  of  an  ideal  up-to-date  speller." 

Chas.  S.  Davis,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Amsterdam,  N.  Y. — "  I  have  been 
opposed  to  the  use  of  a  speller  for  many  years,  but  I  find  the  'Morse  Speller' 
overcomes  the  objections  I  have  held  against  the  old  method.  We  have  adopted 
it,  and  will  require  many  thousand  copies." 


THE  MORSE  COMPANY..  PUBLISHERS, 

MAIN  OFFICE:  96  FIFTH  AVE,,  NEW  YORK. 

Chicago  Office  ;  195  and  197  Wabash  Ave,  Boston  Office  :  30  Bromfield  St. 


HISTORICAL  SERIES. 

...INDIANS  AND  PIONEERS... 

EARLIEST  DAYS  IN  AMERICA. 

BOOK  I. 
BY  BLANCHE  E.  HAZARD,  EDITED  BY  SAMUEL  T.  DUTTON, 

History  Teacher,  High  School,  Concord,  Mass.  Supt.  of  Schools,  Brookline,  Mass. 

Mailing  Price,  Cloth,  72  Cents. 


.THE  COLONIES.. 

BY  HELEN  AINSLIE  SMITH, 

Author  of  "  The  Story  of  the  Thirteen  Colonies"  etc. 

EDITED  BY  SAMUEL  T.  DUTTON, 

Supt.  of  Schools,  Brookline,  Mass. 

Mailing  Price,  80  Cents. 


Accurate  history  in  very  attractive,  narrative  form  for  pupils  of  the  third 
to  sixth  grades,  covering  prehistoric,  glacial,  and  stone  ages,  in  a  manner 
almost  as  interesting  as  a  romance;  also  the  historic  features  of  the  early 
colonial  or  pioneer  days,  including  the  plantations. 

The  dry  subject  of  the  early  history  of  our  country  becomes  animated 
with  life  under  the  fresh  treatment  of  these  authors. 

The  authentic  illustrations,  and  the  great  number  of  them,  add  greatly 
to  the  interest  of  the  historical  narrative.  Altogether,  they  are  the  most 
attractive  historical  text-books  within  the  reach  of  progressive  schools. 


Mr.  Fred.  Gowing,  Supt.  Public  Instruction,  New  Hampshire. — "  I  became  so 
interested  in  '  Indians  and  Pioneers  '  that  I  swallowed  it  in  one  gulp.  It  is  far 
ahead  of  the  hackneyed  historical  readers  printed  to  sell,  not  to  read." 

Mr.  J.  C.  Phillips,  Supt. ,  Lewiston,  Me. — "They  are  highly  interesting  and 
valuable  in  instruction,  and  I  believe  they  will  be  a  great  addition  to  reading  mat 
ter  for  schools." 

Mr.  C,  B.  Gilbert,  Supt.,  Newark,  N.  J. — "As  with  the  first  book,  'Indians 
and  Pioneers,'  the  treatment  of  '  Colonies '  is  clear,  accurate  and  interesting.  They 
are  invaluable  books.  We  have  adopted  them." 

Liberal  Discount  to  Schools. 


THE  MORSE  COMPANY... PUBLISHERS, 

MAIN  OFFICE:  96  FIFTH  AVE.,  NEW  YORK. 

Chicago  Office:  195  and  197  Wabash  Ave.  Boston  Office:  36  Bromfield  St. 


if  CENTURY  BUSY 


IKHbat  tbe  primary  Geacbers 
Ibave  Been  Xoofcing  for* 


'Ut<te 


/ 


squirrels 


'M&to 


squirrels 


Kntirely  Ne\v,  Entertaining  and 
Instructive, 


THE  PHONETIC  READER. 

BY  CHARLES  W.  DEANE,  PH.  D., 

8UPT.   OF  SCHOOLS,   BRIDGEPORT,  CONN. 


EASY  AND  RAPID  METHOD  FOR  TEACHING  READING. 

HIGH-ART  ILLUSTRATIONS,  CHOICE  LITERATURE. 

RESULTS  FROM  USE  COMMEND  THIS  BOOK. 

Mailing  Trice  40  Cents.         Liberal  Discount  to  Schools. 

Orville  T.  Bright,  Supt.  Schools.  Cook  Co.,  111.— "  I  wish  to  say  that  1  think 
the  book  a  genuine  contribution  to  the  teaching  of  little  children.  I  am  delighted 
with  it.  You  have  done  what  nobody  else  has — placed  the  subject  of  phonics  in 
its  proper  relation  to  the  literature  that  should  enter  into  a  first  reader.  In  other 
words,  whoever  reads  this  book  through  will  have  uppermost  in  his  mind,  as  it 
should  be,  the  reading  lessons,  that  is  the  substance  of  the  lessons,  not  the  man 
ner  of  presenting  them.  I  believe  you  have  handled  the  subject  of  phonics  better 
than  anybody  else  in  cold  print.  The  best  part  of  it  all  is,  as  I  have  indicated, 
that  it  is  subordinate.  As  a  teacher  of  long  experience,  and  a  man  whose  whole 
interest  in  life  is  connected  with  schools,  I  wish  to  thank  you  for  having  written 
the  book." 

W.  A.  McCord,  County  Supt.,  Polk  Co.,  Des  Moines,  la. — "  I  find  that 
Deane's  'Phonetic  Reader'  meets  my  ideas  to  a  dot." 

The  editor  of  one  of  the  large  educational  companies  writes  :  "  '  The  Phonetic 
Reader'  is  the  best  thing  of  its  kind  yet  published.  Mr.  Deane  has  surely  used 
the  best  there  is  in  all  other  systems,  and  in  the  word  and  sentence  method." 

Cyrus  Boger,  Supt.  Schools,  Lebanon,  Pa. — "In  Deane's  'Phonetic  Reader' 
the  truth  that  the  child  must  first  learn  to  read  before  it  can  read  to  learn  is  fully 
recognized.  The  method  is  most  excellent,  and  the  reproductions  from  great 
artists  emphasize  the  fact  that  a  child's  book  ought  to  contain  the  best  in  art  as 
well  as  in  literature." 

H.  E.  Bennett,  Principal,  Fernandina,  Fla.  — "Your  primary  books  are  the 
finest  I  have  ever  seen.  Much  credit  is  due  you  for  putting  such  works  of  art  in 
the  hands  of  children.  Our  primary  teachers  are  delighted  with  them,  especially 
Deane's  '  Phonetic  Reader.'" 

Lewis  E.  Funnell,  Prin.  Stamford  Public  Schools,  Stamford,  Conn. — "  I  am 
very  much  pleased  with  Deane's  '  Phonetic  Reader.'  Its  plan  is  in  perfect  har 
mony  with  the  correct  ideas  of  teaching  reading." 

Chas.  Eldred  Shelton,  Supt.  City  Schools,  Burlington,  la.— "This  is  an  ex.-e! 
lent  piece  of  text-book  work.  A  gem  in  its  line." 

Chas.  Emerson,  County  Supt.,  Creston,  la.— "It  is  the  best  of  the  kind  I 
ever  saw." 


THE  MORSE  COMPANY...PUBLISHERS, 

MAIN  OFFICE:   96  FIFTH  AVE.,   NEW  YORK. 

Chicago  Office  :  195  and  197  Wabash  Ave.  Boston  Office  :  36  Bromfield  Si, 


NEW  CENTURY  DEVELOPMENT  MAPS, 


DESIGNED  BY  H.  A.  MACGOWAN. 


AN  ENTIRELY   NEW  AS  WELL  AS  ELABORATE  SERIES  OF  MAPS 

IN  OUTLINE. 


For  use  in  Elementary  and  Secondary  Schools  for  representing  the  in 
numerable  features  that  may  be  expressed  graphically  of  Physical,  Political, 
Mathematical  and  Descriptive  Geography,  History,  Meteorology,  Geology  and 
Statistics. 

PRONOUNCED  BY   PRACTICAL  EDUCATORS 
TO  BE  THE  BEST  AND  MOST  ECONOMICAL. 


North  America, 

South  America, 

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Africa, 

United  States, 

Middle  Atlantic  States, 

The  World  on  the  Mercator  Projection, 

British  Isles, 

Mediterranean  Countries, 

New  England, 

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